Indie Songwriters Not Represented as The Controversial ‘Music Modernization Act’ Was Signed Into Law by President Donald Trump
The infamous and controversial ‘Music Modernization Act’ was signed into law by President Donald Trump on October 11, 2018 and it is causing enormous negative impacts on small music publishers and songwriters nationwide. Even though the act is was heralded as “groundbreaking legislation” for music and tech industries, aspiring music artists and indie songwriters are feeling very uncomfortable about it. Several of the provisions in the Music Modernization Act may directly harm the interests of indie songwriters and smaller artists, and there is a serious need of raising awareness at the national level.
Dan O’Connor is one of the many music artists that will be directly affected through this bill and in a recent interview, the American artist and music producer has spoken about the threats this act poses to himself and his fellow American musicians.
“Under this Music Modernization Act, many songwriters across the country will lose unclaimed royalties and their meaningful ability to litigate and claim their rights,” said Dan O’Connor of DanoSongs Productions, while sharing his thoughts regarding the act. “It is very sad and disappointing to see that the bill had bipartisan support in the US Senate and I fail to understand why our representatives do not see the interest of small publishers and aspiring talent when introducing new bills,” he added.
The Music Modernization Act is legislation that changed U.S. music licensing processes by instituting a not-for-profit mechanical licensing and royalty organization to administer mechanical royalties from streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Google Play Music, Tidal, and others. The new law also modifies the system by requiring Judges to set rates and terms that could have been negotiated between buyers and sellers directly. Additionally, the Music Modernization Act limits the time period that songwriters have to collect upon their earned unmatched royalties, while giving larger publishers in the collective preference, which allows them to be unfairly remunerated with unclaimed payments. All these changes are a disservice to smaller music artists. Music artists, small publishers, and songwriters should be aware of the consequences of the new law and continue to advocate for themselves.
SOURCE DanoSongs.com Music Productions
Related Links
http://www.DanoSongs.com
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