The sweeping Music Modernization Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously on Wednesday with 415 votes. The bipartisan legislation now heads to the Senate with strong support from the music industry. The leaders of three industry trade groups shared their reaction yesterday.
“Music creators compose the soundtrack to our lives. These creators deserve to be paid a fair wage for their work,” said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow in a statement. “The passage of the Music Modernization Act in the House of Representatives is a historic step forward for all music creators, ensuring that they are credited, paid, and shown the respect they deserve for the impact they have on our culture and daily life. We are honored that GRAMMYs on the Hill helped to pave the way for these long overdue updates.”
“Comprehensive music licensing reform enjoyed broad support in the House and throughout the entire music industry,” said Chris Israel, musicFIRST’s Executive Director. “As the effort to update America’s music laws moves to the Senate, it’s critical for Senators to consider the package of legislation in a holistic rather than individual manner. Enacting the entire Music Modernization Act package approved overwhelmingly by the House will provide much-needed updates to music licensing and create a framework benefiting music creators, listening platforms and fans well into the future.”
“This is an historic day for music creators. Today’s overwhelming support in the House for the Music Modernization Act reflects the bill’s widespread consensus, both across the aisle and across the music industry,” said Michael Huppe, President and CEO of SoundExchange. “This legislation stands to benefit artists, songwriters, labels, publishers, studio producers and others – many of whom are represented by the SoundExchange Companies.”
What Is The MMA?
The Music Modernization Act combines three bills, including the original Music Modernization Act, which mandates a new organization to collect mechanical royalties and offers streaming music services protection from copyright infringement lawsuits filed after this last January. Also a part of the expanded legislation is the Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society (CLASSICS) Act, Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act and part of the Fair Play Fair Pay Act which changes how the Copyright Royalty Board sets streaming rates.