M+E Daily
CreativeFuture Sends Letter to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Urging Prompt Action on the Music Modernization Act (MESA)
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Yesterday, CreativeFuture, an organization representing over 160,000 members and 530 companies, sent a letter to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary asking that S. 2823, a comprehensive legislative package that would bring our country’s outdated music licensing system into the digital age, be passed.
This landmark Bill encompasses three Bills introduced earlier in this Congress: the Music Modernization Act (MMA) (S. 2334), the CLASSICS Act (S. 2393), and the AMP Act (S. 2625).
The MMA (S. 2334, now reflected in Title I of S. 2823) updates our musical works licensing regime to create a more robust and efficient system.
The AMP Act (S. 2625, now reflected in Title III of S. 2823) codifies a well-established method of providing direct payment to music producers and engineers. Finally, the CLASSICS Act (S. 2393, now reflected in Title II of S. 2823) corrects a long-standing injustice in our federal law whereby sound recordings made before February 15, 1972 are not guaranteed protection and compensation under the Copyright Act, while recordings made after that date are.
“Fair compensation for both pre- and post-1972 artists and musicians should not be controversial. However, omitting this long-overdue correction from a package of important music modernization bills certainly would be controversial – not to mention an injustice against our most cherished artists and musicians,” said CreativeFuture CEO Ruth Vitale.
“We respectfully request that the Senate Judiciary Committee move swiftly to advance S. 2823.”
