PROS, PUBS LINE UP BEHIND SONGWRITER ROYALTY BILL

The Music Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) designed to reform the way songwriters are paid in the digital age, will be on the agenda of the House of Representatives when it reconvenes on 1/9.

If passed, HR4706 would create a collective to manage a blanket mechanical licensing system, and change the way the Copyright Royalty Board determines rates from using a legal standard to one that reflects market value. Additionally, it would reform the system that determines performance royalty rates for ASCAP and BMI by allowing rate courts to review market evidence into the valuation of how songwriters are compensated as well as giving them improvements to the rate-court process.

This bill is supported by ASCAP, BMI, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) and pretty much every other body representing songwriters and publishers, as well as the Digital Music Association (DiMA), which reps Amazon, Apple, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube.

Learn more about the Music Modernization Act here.

You can show your support for the bill by signing a petition that will be sent to Congress here.