On October 11, 2018, the President signed the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (H.R. 1551). After years of calls for reform to music licensing by virtually all interests in the music industry, the MMA ushers in significant changes to the Copyright Act.
Among other things, the MMA creates a new entity—the Mechanical Licensing Collective—to “modernize” and administer the compulsory mechanical licensing process for interactive streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. It is crucial that musicians, in particular independent songwriters, understand the changes, the critical deadlines, and the new processes in the MMA to protect their rights to unclaimed and future royalties.
The following are the key changes created by the MMA: