“I saw Satan laughing with delight…The day the music died.”
— from Don McLean’s “American Pie”
WHAV is defined by its commitment to original, comprehensive local news reporting, but those who enjoy its unique, locally curated selection of classic hits from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s should know this music could go away.
WHAV does not receive any grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but listeners do benefit from broadcast and internet music license agreements CPB has negotiated on behalf of all nonprofit broadcasters. The noncomMUSIC Alliance says a plan to rescind funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting “will devastate the public media system.”
“Without federal funding for CPB and CPB’s management of these music rights, public radio stations will not be able to play any music of any genre on the radio or stream on the internet. Noncommercial music in broadcast could vanish, unless the music rights organizations renegotiate in some way to allow these uses for hundreds of public radio stations nationwide. The effects on public radio music stations—which predominantly play noncommercial music on the air and serve nearly 24 million listeners weekly—would be devastating.”
The noncomMUSIC Alliance is asking those who love music and support artists to communicate directly with lawmakers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire before May 2 about the importance of public radio to your artists and their development. A list of congressional contacts is here.