Senate Judiciary Committee Unanimously Passes Music Copyright Package

The package incorporates language from the Compensating Legacy Artists for Their Songs, Service and Important Contributions to Society (Classics) Act (S-2393) and the Allocation for Music Producers (Amp) Act (S-2625). Sasse introduced an amendment to strike the Classics portion, but the bill advanced as written. Wyden introduced an alternate bill to the Classics Act -- the Accessibility for Curators, Creators, Educators, Scholars and Society (Access) to Recordings Act (see 1805230068) -- which wasn't considered Thursday. Wyden, who's not a committee member, opposed adding “a new federal right on top of the current patchwork of state laws,” which he said would create more uncertainty for artists and scholars.

Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, acknowledged concerns from Wyden and Sasse but cited the bill’s bipartisan, bicameral support. “I want the bill to [pass] because we’ve been looking for a solution to this for 15 years, and I think this is it,” Grassley said in an interview Wednesday.

Thursday’s version included a manager’s amendment requiring DOJ to consult Congress while reviewing the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees and give notice to lawmakers if it moves to terminate the decrees (see 1806110051). The MIC Coalition and National Music Publishers’ Association welcomed the updated language. If the new version passes the Senate, the House also will need to approve the updated language. ASCAP hopes the Senate “will move swiftly to pass a version of this bill that preserves the much-needed benefits for music creators," said CEO Elizabeth Matthews.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, voiced concern about the bill’s mechanical licensing collective (MLC), which would establish a royalty payment database overseen by the Copyright Office, precluding private entities from providing. “I’m generally not in favor of any government collectives of any kind, but I just want to highlight that issue so we can continue our discussions about it as the bill moves to the floor,” Cornyn said.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who filed an amendment to address the MLC issue, echoed Cornyn's concerns. The MLC as written would hurt free-market efficiency, he said, arguing against a government entity administering blanket licenses. There's a functioning market fulfilling obligations of the MLC, and the bill would put all those private entities out of business, he said, calling the setup nationalization: “We should be promoting competition in the music industry, not collectivizing it.” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., was sympathetic to comments from Cornyn and Cruz, and called for a middle-ground solution.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., an original bill sponsor, understands Wyden’s hesitation about the Classics Act and looks forward to working with Grassley to resolve those issues. Wyden said in a statement he continues to have "serious" concerns about the Classics Act as reported out by committee. He said Coons "has been willing to discuss other approaches, and I am hopeful that we can come up with a reasonable solution that fairly compensates artists for their pre-1972 recordings.”

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who crafted the original bill, applauded ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for working to bring the manager’s amendment and “improving” the bill: “It’s not often you have two-thirds of the committee on a bill, and I think that’s a sign of the breadth and depth of the stakeholder support for the bill. … Our bill has virtually unheard of support across the music landscape.” Everyone agrees the status quo is unsustainable, he added.

Grassley said music copyright law has been criticized for being too difficult to comply with and for not adequately rewarding musical creativity. The MIC Coalition praised the manager’s amendment, citing some 1,100 bars, hotels, restaurants and wineries that wrote DOJ seeking to preserve the consent decrees.

Echoing concerns from Wyden, Public Knowledge said the Classics Act gives pre-1972 sound recordings new federal rights “without bringing them into the established system of federal copyright.” PK Policy Counsel Meredith Rose said: “Legacy artists are absolutely in need of relief after decades of abusive industry practices, but there is no rational reason for that relief to last an extra 50-plus years beyond the 95-year term provided for musical compositions and other copyrighted works.”

RIAA looks “forward to Senate passage of the entire MMA, and this crucial bill finally becoming law,” said President Mitch Glazier. NMPA CEO David Israelite said, “Once the MMA is signed into law, songwriters will see more of the money they deserve from streaming services who currently operate off of laws from 1909 and consent decrees from 1941."

NAB CEO Gordon Smith said this “balanced legislation provides much needed reforms to the music licensing market to the benefit of songwriters, legacy recording artists, producers, digital streaming services and music users.” Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid noted the bill hasn't received a single “no” vote in the House or Senate, saying the legislation is “essential to helping music creators across the industry get paid more equitably.”