Music Modernization Act Signed Into Law

[DonaldM]

It appears that today President Trump signed the Music Modernization Act into law.

What does all this mean? First, songwriters and artists will receive royalties on songs recorded before 1972. Second, the MMA will improve how songwriters are paid by streaming services with a single mechanical licensing database overseen by music publishers and songwriters. The cost of creating and maintaining this database will be paid for by digital streaming services. Third, the act will take unclaimed royalties due to music professionals and provide a consistent legal process to receive them. Previously, these unclaimed royalties were held by digital service providers like Spotify. All of this should also ensure that artists are paid more and have an easier time collecting money they are owed.

Another part of the bill:

The Classics Act is another part of the bill, and it ensures that artists are properly compensated for pre-1972 master recordings. Additionally, the Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act provides for increased compensation for producers and engineers when their music is used on online and satellite radio.

The bill is officially the Orrin G. Hatch Music Modernization Law. What is interesting about that is that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), is also a composer, so he probably had some keen interest in this law. Most people aren't aware of this side of Sen. Hatch.



I didn't even realize such a thing was in the works until I stumbled on the news story. I wonder if other nations will follow suit?