Music Modernization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Music Modernization Act, and I am also proud to be a cosponsor. This comprehensive music bill will help create an efficient and fair music licensing system.

Currently, streaming services have to obtain licenses on a song-by- song basis. The Music Modernization Act would reform section 115 of the Copyright Act by establishing a collective to offer blanket licenses to streaming services for mechanical rights.

Under current law, only sound recordings made after 1972 receive payments from digital radio services under Federal law. This bill would benefit legacy artists and music creators who recorded music before 1972 by establishing royalty payments whenever their music is played on digital radio.

That is why this section of the bill is supported by Dionne Warwick, Duke Fakir of the Four Tops, Tina Turner, and the estates of Miles Davis and Otis Redding, among many others. The bill provides producers a right to collect digital royalties and provides a process for studio professionals to receive royalties for their contributions to the creation of music. This bill would, for the first time, add producers and engineers who play an important role in the creation of sound recordings to the U.S. copyright law.

Music organizations representing U.S. music publishers, record labels, songwriters, composers, artists, and performance rights organizations support this bill. The reforms made by this bill are critical because the royalty system has not kept pace with the digital age. These changes will benefit consumers, creators, and the entire music marketplace.

I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill. I commend the efforts of Doug Collins, Hakeem Jeffries, and Chairman Goodlatte, as well as Ranking Member Nadler for shepherding this legislation to this point.

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