You’ve heard from us a lot this year, asking you to support music creators and help get the Music Modernization Act (MMA) passed through Congress. We’re asking for your help again, this time asking Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) to stand with music creators hoping to receive fair pay for their work.
Thanks to you we were able to get the MMA passed unanimously in the House of Representatives. That’s how important and well-supported this legislation is. Not one member of the House of Representatives voted against this bill!
The legislation is now before the U.S. Senate. Thirty Senators from both political parties support the legislation, and artists who recorded before 1972 have never been closer to being paid fairly for their work.
But that doesn’t mean everyone is on board. A small but vocal number of special interest groups are trying to derail the MMA by introducing bills that are essentially “poison pills” intended to water down or outright remove the CLASSICS (pre-1972) provisions in the broader legislation.
Now, an effort by Oregon’s Senator Ron Wyden threatens the MMA and delivering fair pay for pre-1972 music creators.
Senator Wyden has introduced his own bill – The ACCESS to Recordings Act – and it certainly doesn’t put music creators first. The MMA was crafted after years of hard work and collaboration between artists, unions, labels, digital services and other stakeholders. Senator Wyden’s bill threatens to undo all of that hard work and progress, essentially killing our chance at restoring fairness for pre-1972 artists.
It doesn’t end there. Senator Wyden’s bill is also a real threat to the retirement security that pre-1972 artists and their families rely on.
In short, Senator Wyden’s proposal is bad for music creators and their families. This isn’t the sort of thing we expect from a Senator who has been a progressive champion for decades.
Tell Senator Wyden he should be fighting for artists, not against them.
Please take a minute to send Senator Wyden a message by clicking here. Ask him to do the right thing and stand up for artists by standing down on his efforts on the ACCESS to Recordings Act.