Trump, alongside Kid Rock, Signs music streaming copyright reform act

But at the urging of Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, and U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia, the different interest groups.

"The Music Modernization Act closed loopholes in our digital royalty laws to ensure that songwriters, artists, producers and providers receive fair payment for the licensing of music," Trump said during the signing ceremony. "I've been involved in it, but I got involved in it." They were treated very unfairly. "They're not going to be treated unfairly anymore."

The president was joined by Nashville artists, including Christian band MercyMe, country artists John Rich and Craig Morgan, along with rock star Kid Rock. It has been a fitting symbolic gesture, since it has been taken to a greater extent by the Music Modernization Act ahead. Songwriters and publishers had to be reformed.

"Nashville International Songwriter Association Chairman Steve Bogard said. "With the passage of this law, every professional songwriter in America, including myself, who has suffered devastating economic losses in the era of digital music delivery, can now breathe a sigh of relief and be optimistic about the future of our profession. the songs that bear my name, this is my proudest career accomplishment. "

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The Music Modernization Act passed the U.S. Senate on Tuesday; it's the first substantive reform to the nation's music copyright laws in decades.
Courtesy of CSPAN

The Music Modernization Act explained:

The Music Modernization Act has three main tenets:

• It creates a new organization which will be in charge of the digital mechanical licensing of a song. The new organization, run by publishers and songwriters, will be in charge of identifying copyright owners and will be paid for by Apple, Amazon or other streaming services. The onus for licensing has fallen to the stream companies, and at times they have been successful, leading to multi-million-dollar lawsuits and class action settlements.

more: How Lamar Alexander brokered that led to Music Modernization Act

• The new law also creates a new standard for the definition of a digital marketplace, which makes it easier for companies to negotiate a new standard. Importantly, the law also calls for a random rotation among federal judges in New York for who oversees copyright hearings so that the power to set rates is not clustered with a single short.
• The legislation closed the loophole, which allowed digital radio companies to not pay artists and record labels royalties for songs recorded prior to 1972.

Trump's signing of the garnered bill, sweeping praise from the music industry.

"The Music Modernization Act is now the law of the land, and the songwriters and artists are better for it," Recording Industry Association of America President Mitch Glazier said. "The result is a music market better founded on fair competition and fair pay." The enactment of this law demonstrates what music creators and digital services can do when we work together.
It's a great day for music. "

ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews credited with the creative community for advocacy.

"Thanks to the unrelenting efforts of our ASCAP music creator and publisher members, industry partners and champions in Congress," said Matthews.

It was an interesting juxtaposition since earlier in the week pop star Taylor Swift, for the first time, politically endorsed Democratic candidates for Congress in Tennessee, garnering national headlines and underscoring the liberal-bent of the entertainment industry.

It has been conservative lawmakers from the Republican majority in Congress who spearheaded the effort to pass the Music Modernization Act. The bill unanimously passed the House and the Senate, and was named in honor of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

"This is really big news for Tennesseans – from Beale Street in Memphis, through Music City, all the way to the birthplace of country music in Bristol. We have thousands of songwriters – taxi drivers, music teachers – and they are paid, they are not paid for fair market value, "Alexander said. "The Music Modernization Act is the most important law in a generation to help make sure that our songwriters – and songwriters all over America – can keep working and make a decent living by making sure they're paid making sure they're paid a fair market value for their work. "

Next comes implementing the Modernization Act, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2020. The board of directors for the new digital licensing organization will be composed of publishing company executives, songwriters and self-published songwriters.

How the new organization is formed, and which private companies emerge as partners will be of immense interest in the music industry.

"Named President and CEO David Israelite said:" We are moving forward and building the critical structures within the MMA, "said NMPA President and CEO David Israelite. "Today is about their future and this bill is a great statement on what can be done when we work together."

more: How the internet is now a place for songwriters | Sen. Lamar Alexander