Radio Royalties Fight Explodes on Capitol Hill

Gene Simmons arrived on Capitol Hill this week with a message he made impossible to ignore.

According to PEOPLE, the 76-year-old 🎸Kiss bassist took a seat before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday and launched into an urgent appeal for lawmakers to finally require radio stations to pay performing artists when their recorded vocals are played on the air.

Simmons argued that the American Music Fairness Act would correct what he called a longstanding injustice — one that has left generations of iconic performers uncompensated every time their songs filled radio airwaves.

He reminded senators that legends like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Elvis Presley “never got a penny for all the millions of times” their voices were broadcast.

During the hearing, Simmons said he recently raised the issue with country superstar George Strait during the Kennedy Center Honors. When Simmons asked if he realized he had never been paid for radio airplay of “Amarillo by Morning,” Strait was reportedly stunned and looked to his team for confirmation.

The disbelief, Simmons said, illustrated exactly why 🏛️Congress needs to act.

“If you are against this bill, you are un-American,” Simmons told lawmakers. “You cannot let this injustice continue. It looks like a small issue … But our emissaries to the world are Elvis and Frank Sinatra.”