On
January 24, S.
2334 – the
Music Modernization Act of 2018 – was introduced in the U.S. Senate and
referred to the Judiciary Committee. Sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, and with
bi-partisan co-sponsorship, S. 2334 is the Senate counterpart to HR
4706. The Music Modernization Act would reform Sections 114 and 115 of the
Copyright Act by facilitating more timely and accurate payment of songwriter
royalties and by streamlining blanket licenses for digital streaming
services. If adopted, the Music
Modernization Act would also move mechanical licensing royalties for music
compositions to the “willing buyer/willing seller” standard, which seeks to
“most clearly represent the rates and terms that would have been negotiated in
the marketplace” among willing parties. The legislation has the support of songwriters, music
publishers, and digital streaming services.
The
House version of the Music Modernization Act was one of three bills that were
briefly profiled in my January 16 blog post: “Congress
Should Advance Consensus Music Copyright Reforms in 2018.” As explained in
that post, several provisions of the Copyright Act regarding sound recordings
and music compositions need to be updated to better secure copyright owners’
rights to the proceeds of their creative labors. The Music Modernization Act
(S.2334/HR 4706), the CLASSICS Act (HR 3301), and the AMP Act (HR 881), would all
help achieve those ends. Congress should seize the opportunity to make those
reform proposals into reality in 2018.
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