H.R. 5447 is designed to significantly update several key provisions of U.S. copyright law regarding music licensing.
Key Provisions of the Music Modernization Act include:[1] Title I – Music Modernization Act
- Reflects how modern digital music services operate by creating a blanket licensing system to quickly license and pay for musical work copyrights
- Discourages music litigation that generates legal settlements in favor of simply ensuring that artists and copyright owners are paid in the first place without such litigation
- Ends the flawed U.S. Copyright Office bulk notice of intent system that allows royalties to not be paid
- Implements uniform rate setting standards to be used by the Copyright Royalty Board for all music services
- Shifts the costs of the new licensing collective created by the bill to those who benefit from the collective - the licensees
- Updates how certain rate court cases are assigned in the Southern District of New York
Title II -- _Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society (CLASSICS) Act _
- Provides a public performance right for pre-1972 recordings
Title III -- _Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act _
- Ensures that record producers, sound engineers, and other creative professionals receive compensation for their work