President Trump Signed the Music Modernization Act

Yesterday, President Trump signed the "Orrin Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act" (H.R. 1551), which creates a compulsory blanket licensing system for music recordings, updates the rate standards applicable to music licensing, provides copyright royalties to pre-1972 artists, and provides compensation to producers, mixers, and sound engineers.

President Trump released the following statement when he signed the bill:

The Music Modernization Act closes loopholes in our digital royalty laws to ensure that songwriters, artists, producers, and providers receive fair payment for the licensing of music. 

Streaming has made music more accessible than ever, yet our laws have not kept up with the pace of technology.  As such, artists of all varieties and all career stages are losing out on revenue that they have rightly earned

This legislation will help ensure that artists from eras long ago, in addition to modern day, can retire in security, and that current and upcoming artists can make a living by creating amazing works that captivate their fans and entertain our nation — and the world. 

FSF scholars have advocated for Congress to pass the Music Modernization Act in order to better secure copyright protections and royalty payments for recording artists, songwriters, and other music professionals.

Further Readings:

Randolph May and Seth Cooper, "A Constitution Day to Strengthen Copyright Protection," Perspectives from FSF Scholars, Vol. 13, No. 35, (September 17, 2018).

Seth Cooper, "Senate Should Vote on the Bill to Modernize Music Copyright," FSF Blog, (August 9, 2018).

Seth Cooper, "Senate Should Advance Consensus Bill to Modernize Music Copyright," FSF Blog, (May 15, 2018).

Randolph May and Seth Cooper, "World IP Day – An Opportune Time to Modernize Music Copyright Protections," Perspectives from FSF Scholars, Vol. 13, No. 14, (April 23, 2018).