Music Modernization Act
Also known as MMA, Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act, Public Law 115-264
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Short answer
The Music Modernization Act (MMA) is a United States copyright law signed on October 11, 2018 as Public Law 115-264. It created a blanket mechanical license for digital music services administered by the Mechanical Licensing Collective, extended federal protection for digital uses to sound recordings made before 1972, and gave producers and engineers a statutory path to SoundExchange royalties.
Background
Before the MMA, a digital service in the United States had to obtain a mechanical license for each musical work it streamed, under a notice process designed for an era of physical records. Services frequently could not identify the owners of every work, and large sums of mechanical royalties went unmatched. Recordings fixed before February 15, 1972 were outside federal copyright entirely and protected only by a patchwork of state laws.[1]
Title I — Musical Works Modernization Act
Title I amended Section 115 of the Copyright Act to create a blanket license covering all musical works for eligible digital uses, and directed the Copyright Office to designate a collective to administer it. The Mechanical Licensing Collective was designated in 2019 and the blanket license became available on January 1, 2021.[1][2] Title I also changed the standard the Copyright Royalty Board uses to set mechanical rates to a willing-buyer, willing-seller standard.
Title II — CLASSICS Act
Title II brought pre-1972 sound recordings under federal law for digital audio transmissions, so that digital services pay for them under the same statutory license as later recordings and the royalties flow through SoundExchange.[1]
Title III — AMP Act
Title III, the Allocation for Music Producers Act, codified the practice of paying producers, mixers and sound engineers a share of an artist's digital performance royalties through a letter of direction filed with SoundExchange, including a path for recordings made before November 1, 1995 where no such letter can be obtained.[1]
Questions
What did the Music Modernization Act do?
It created a blanket mechanical license for streaming and download services administered by The MLC, extended federal digital protection to pre-1972 recordings, and gave producers and engineers a statutory route to SoundExchange royalties.
When was the Music Modernization Act signed?
October 11, 2018. It is Public Law 115-264.
When did the blanket license start?
The blanket mechanical license became available on January 1, 2021, the date The MLC began administering it.
References
- U.S. Copyright Office. “The Music Modernization Act.”
- U.S. Copyright Office. “Designation of Mechanical Licensing Collective and Digital Licensee Coordinator.”