President Signs into Law Major Music Reform Package
Grassley led bipartisan Music Modernization Act through Judiciary Committee
Washington,
DC— Landmark
legislation reforming the music licensing laws, which Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley steered through the committee process, was
signed into law today. The bipartisan Music
Modernization Act, brings outdated music licensing laws into the 21st
century and creates a fairer marketplace for songwriters and other content
creators. It combines three previously introduced bills—the Music
Modernization Act (MMA), the Compensating Legacy Artists for their
Songs, Service, & Important Contributions to Society (CLASSICS) Act,
and the Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act. The package is
supported by professionals across the music industry and makes a real
difference for songwriters, recording artists, producers, sound engineers,
digital music companies, and other music stakeholders.
“Though the way we listen to music may change over time, the lasting mark music creators from all generations leave with us does not,” Grassley said. “This broadly bipartisan package ensures that all music creators have the access to the royalties they’ve earned and that music lovers can better access these works of art. Thanks to the hard work of Senator Hatch and other colleagues, and President Trump’s support, we’ve addressed problems for these communities that have been entrenched for 15 years with this much-needed solution and reform package.”
The Music Modernization Act package was
introduced by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). The legislation was unanimously advanced by
the Judiciary Committee and received overwhelming support in the Senate and
House of Representatives.
Background:
·
Musical Works Modernization Act:
o This proposal creates a new,
simplified licensing system to make it easier for digital music companies to
obtain a license for songs.
o The simplified system will also
ensure songwriters are paid the royalties they are owed.
o In addition, the bill revises
outdated songwriter royalty standards to ensure songwriters are paid a fair
market rate for their work.
·
Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, &
Important Contributions to Society (CLASSICS) Act:
o In the 1970s, Congress extended
federal copyright protections to sound recordings fixed after February 1972.
o The CLASSICS Act requires digital
music services to pay for the use of pre-1972 sound recordings in the same way
and at the same rate they pay for recordings fixed after 1972.
o SoundExchange, the entity that
collects and distributes digital performance royalties for sound recordings,
will collect royalties for pre-1972 recordings, as it does for recordings made
after 1972.
·
Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act:
o Under current law, although
recording artists have a right to a percentage of the royalties collected for
digital performances of sound recordings, producers and engineers have no such
right.
o The AMP Act would establish a
procedure for producers and engineers who worked on sound recordings to apply
for a share of the royalties.
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