Senate Passes Music Modernization Act
Senators passed the Music Modernization Act Tuesday evening. The vote on S-2823 was unanimous, as expected, and by voice vote.
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Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Chris Coons, D-Del., had just crafted another last-minute compromise on the comprehensive music copyright legislation. It would grant full federalization to pre-1972 recordings, providing the same rights and obligations as post-72 recordings and exempt the public performance right for terrestrial radio. It would last for 95 years.
“For the modern U.S. Senate to unanimously pass a 185-page bill is a herculean feat," and it would move toward a "modern music licensing landscape better founded on fair market rates and fair pay for all," said RIAA President Mitch Glazier. He noted the bill included the Classics Act with the pre-72 rights.
The legislation also includes "comprehensive and publicly available audits of the MMA’s new Mechanical Licensing Collective and ensuring that the Collective uses best practices to find the owners of unclaimed royalties," said the Content Creators Coalition and MusicAnswers. SiriusXM, which earlier had concerns about some aspects of MMA, didn't comment.