“The window to the people is radio,” country music star Garth Brooks told attendees at last week’s Country Radio Seminar. This annual event brings together radio and recording industry professionals to discuss business trends, best practices, innovations and policies impacting the future of radio.

During a fireside chat with Townsquare Media’s Kurt Johnson, NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt noted that performers and radio enjoy a long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship.  Local radio provides as much as $2.4 billion annually in free promotion to artists and record labels, and reinvests profits in local economies and public service.

As Radio Ink reported, “A great example of that successful relationship is the Country Radio Seminar. At the Universal Music Group luncheon Tuesday, every artist from Vince Gill to Parker McCollom to Darius Rucker thanked radio for playing their music. They know radio airplay is a big step to becoming a superstar.”

Currently, 189 members of Congress have signed on to cosponsor the Local Radio Freedom Act, a resolution that opposes any new fees or taxes on radio for airing music, due to the harm they would cause to local radio’s service in your community. This legislation garnered the support of a majority of the House of Representatives in the last Congress. Please take action now to tell your members of Congress to support local radio and the Local Radio Freedom Act!