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Music Modernization Act passed by US Senate

Campaigners are today celebrating the unanimous passing of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) by the US Senate. The bill, which now awaits reconsideration by the House and a signature from the president, aims to initiate a complete overhaul of the way music is monetised in the US.

Recognising the “momentous day”, National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) president and CEO David Israelite says: “The Senate vote marks a true step forward towards fairness for the people at the heart of music who have long been undervalued due to outdated laws.”

Included in the 185-page bill is the CLASSICS Act (Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service and Important Contributions to Society Act). Under current laws, only artist recordings made after 1972 have a federal right to be remunerated when played on digital radio. The CLASSICS Act would see SoundExchange establish royalty payments for music made pre-1972.

“[Today] creators of music moved one step closer to getting paid more fairly and industry forces that fought to maintain an unfair and harmful status quo were rebuffed”

Also included in the MMA is the Allocation for Music Producers Act, which will recognise music producers and engineers by writing them into US copyright law. Studio professionals will be provided with a “consistent, permanent” process for collecting digital royalties for their “contributions to the creation of music.”

Commenting on the passing of the Music Modernization Act, Michael Huppe, president and CEO of SoundExchange, the sole organisation designated to collect and distribute royalties by the US Congress, says: “[Today] creators of music moved one step closer to getting paid more fairly and industry forces that fought to maintain an unfair and harmful status quo were rebuffed.

“Now, SoundExchange’s 170,000-member community has just one word for the House of Representatives: Encore.”

 

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