BALE Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for yielding, and I make the very point that there are three Members on this floor today from the Judiciary Committee who have an enormous amount of seniority, who have seen the long journey that our talented genius-based musical icons in our Nation have traveled to come to this point, and so I say congratulations.

In the markup, I indicated that there was a harmonious sound coming from the Judiciary Committee and that it was evident that we could work together in a bipartisan manner.

I thank the chairman, Mr. Goodlatte, and the ranking member, Mr. Nadler, who have been intimately involved; and I am reminded of all of those who have come in and out of my office through the years as I served on the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Committee some years back and that they were still traveling even in this year, 2018.

So I applaud Mr. Collins and Mr. Jeffries for providing that musical tone. This is a very important bill. It is an important bill because it was an inconsistent patchwork that governed the industry that was in dire need of reframing, and the MMA 2018 addresses that patchwork. And specifically, under title II, it finally gives a just compensation to those artists who recorded works prior to 1972.

First and foremost, the MMA is a proposition that is supported by both the majority of songwriters and publishers and the digital service providers.

Secondly, it modernizes the process and brings music licensing into the 21st century--long overdue.

Third, it puts unclaimed royalties in the hands of the content community, rather than sitting with digital services. It streamlines the streamline.

Fourth, it finally creates a comprehensive database, and confidence grows in the market.

And for all of those individuals who provided us the joy that was earlier mentioned, it creates a formalized body run by publishers that administer the law, the mechanical licensing and compositions streamed on services like Spotify and Apple Music, and others; it changes the procedure by which millions of songs are made available; and it funds the creation of a comprehensive database, but, more importantly, it helps those who prerecord it.

My tribute to Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, the late Jackie Wilson, Duke Fakir, The Shirelles, French Family in Houston, Bun B, Trae tha Truth, and the late Crickets, the Ebony singers in Houston, the Houston Grand Opera, Mrs. Barbara Tucker, End Jazz, Jason Moran, Kirk Whalum, Howard Harris, Imani children's band, Kashmere jazz band; and, of course, gospel, Kirk Clark, Kathy Taylor, Michael McCain, and Georgia Adams. Houston is a hub, Mr. Speaker, and we are celebrating because of this bill. I congratulate everyone.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Music Modernization Act of 2018 (MMA) of which I am an original cosponsor.

This bill has arrived at its current state through the diligent work of various stakeholders involved, including the music industry, congressional staff, and Members of Congress.

Hours of debate, negotiation, and deliberation have yielded a product of cooperation and compromise.

I commend the industry and the parties involved in drafting this bipartisan solution--it is rare that this committee reaches such agreements when considering major legislation.

Houston, being a music hub with its Grammy Award winning orchestra and Grammy nominated rappers including my dear friend Bun B from Underground Kingz, will certainly benefit from this legislation becoming law.

The exemplary efforts exhibited by the music industry in this instance, with the goal of solving problems and addressing a wide variety of stakeholder concerns, are a model that this committee and this Congress should use as inspiration to best serve the American people.

The need for this legislation is clear; much of the current licensing system was established in an analog era, with non-digital physical recordings done song-by-song, using compulsory licenses first established in 1909.

In addition, artists who recorded works prior to 1972 do not receive any digital performance royalties under federal law, and current statute does not ensure that non-recording artists such as producers, sound engineers, and mixers receive revenue from webcasts of their work.

The inconsistent patchwork that governs the industry is in dire need of reframing and the MMA 2018 addresses that patchwork and specifically under Title II, finally gives just compensation to those artists who recorded works prior to 1972.

With the MMA, Congress is fulfilling its duty to provide order and guidance to the faulty program currently in place.

The United States has the most innovative and influential music culture in the world, but its legal framework for music licensing dates back to the age of the Victrola.

There is a widespread perception from across the industry that this complex framework is under strain and needs updating.

The last general revision of the Copyright Act took place in 1976 following a lengthy and comprehensive review process carried out by Congress, the Copyright Office, and interested parties.

Congress significantly amended the Act in 1995, with the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act (``DPRSRA''), and 1998, with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (``DMCA''), to address emerging issues of the digital age.

While the current Copyright Act reflects many sound and enduring principles, and has enabled the internet to flourish, it could not have foreseen all of today's technologies and the myriad ways consumers and others engage with music in the digital environment.

First and foremost, the MMA is a proposition that is supported by both a majority of songwriters and publishers and the (Digital Service Providers)--two groups who rarely agree.

Secondly, it ``modernizes'' the process and brings music licensing into the 21st century.

Instead of bulk Notices of Intention--the environmentally unfriendly process of sending actual physical letters of intent to each publisher for each share of each song--the licensing will be done electronically.

Third, it puts unclaimed royalties in the hands of the content community, rather than sitting with the Digital Service Providers.

Fourth, it finally creates a comprehensive database.

While various companies and services have a version of a database, U.S. publishers have not agreed on one that is both comprehensive and accurate.

As part of the MMA, the digital service providers will pay for the creation and maintenance of a database that will finally put all mechanical licensing information in one place that is accessible to all.

Finally, it provides streaming services with confidence that, if they follow the process, they can accurately and comprehensively license all the musical works on their service without fear of billion dollar lawsuits against them.

And confidence grows markets and boosts economy.

A number of interested music industry groups have come together to create a consensus bill that makes several major changes including: Title I--Music Modernization Act.

The Music Modernization act creates a formalized body, run by publishers, that administers the ``mechanical licensing'' of compositions streamed on services like Spotify and Apple Music (these companies are referred as Digital Service Providers or DSPs).

The bill reflects how modern digital music services operate by creating a blanket licensing system to quickly license and pay for musical work copyrights.

It changes the procedure by which millions of songs are made available for streaming on these services and limits the liability a service can incur if it adheres to the new process.

Discusses 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.

The MMA funds the creation of a comprehensive database with buy in from all the major publishers and digital service providers.

Ends the flawed U.S. Copyright Office bulk notice of intent system that allows royalties to go unpaid.

The bill also creates a new evidentiary standard by which the performance rights organizations American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) can argue better rates for the performance of musical works on DSPs.

It implements uniform rate setting standards to be used by the Copyright Royalty Board for all music services.

The bill shifts the costs of the new licensing collective created by the bill to those who benefit from the collective--the licensees.

The MMA 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--The Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act ensures that record producers, sound engineers, and other creative professionals receive compensation for their work

I urge my colleagues to join me in support of the MMA.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5447) to modernize copyright law, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 5447, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today, the House brings early 20th century music laws for the analog era into the 21st century digital era. These changes are a culmination of years of effort by interested parties as well as by many members of the Judiciary Committee.

The problems and failures in our Nation's music laws have imposed real financial costs upon artists and creators. Music is no longer written on piano rolls and our laws shouldn't be based on that technology any longer either.

Several years ago, the Judiciary Committee began a comprehensive review of our Nation's copyright laws. We held dozens of hearings, heard from over 100 witnesses, and traveled to multiple cities across the country to hear directly from stakeholders who use these laws. This review provided the foundation upon which several bills to reform our copyright laws were constructed.

During the course of this review, we learned that our music licensing laws were no longer working as intended for songwriters, artists, and creators, or for the companies that deliver the music in innovative ways for consumers.

Specifically, we have heard about several key problems, including a dysfunctional mechanical licensing system that seems to generate more paperwork and attorneys' fees than royalties; a need to provide protection for pre-1972 performances; a lack of recognition in the law for the creative input of producers, sound engineers, and mixers; and a lack of a unified rate standard for music royalties.

The Judiciary Committee regularly hears from a variety of groups interested in copyright law, and it will not surprise anyone to know that, typically, not everyone agrees regarding what changes to title 17 are necessary. One person's problem may be another's benefit, and some have preferred a broken system over an unknown change.

However, in a reflection of how bad our music statutes are, the opposite is true with respect to the bill before us today. Every party that has spoken about music recognizes the problems caused by our current licensing framework and wants real solutions. The existing music provisions of title 17 are simply that bad.

I tasked the industry to come together with a unified reform bill and, to their credit, they delivered, albeit with an occasional bump along the way. Today, the major players in the music industry are unified in supporting comprehensive music licensing reform to bring the state of our Nation's copyright laws into the digital age that the industry itself has already transitioned to.

While no bill is perfect, by all accounts, this is a bill with overwhelming consensus behind it. Groups that represent songwriters, musical works copyright owners, digital music providers, individual artists, sound recording copyright owners, artist guilds, and performing rights organizations all support the bill.

The reasons for such widespread support are clear:

The Music Modernization Act boosts payments for copyright owners and artists by shifting the reasonable costs of a new mechanical licensing collective onto digital music services that, themselves, benefit from reduced litigation costs as a result of other provisions in the bill.

Songwriters gain a seat at the table in seeing how their royalties are collected and then allocated.

Pre-1972 artists who currently go unpaid will finally see royalties for their creations, as will sound engineers, mixers, and producers. The public benefits, too, by having immediate access to all music on their favorite services. Furthermore, libraries and archives gain educational and fair use access to pre-1972 works currently governed under State law.

This bill is the work product of many stakeholders and many Members. I want to highlight the work of several of my colleagues, including the ranking member, who were leaders in working on the underlying components of this bill.

I want to especially thank Mr. Collins and Mr. Jeffries for their leadership on section 115 reform. I would like to thank Mr. Issa and Mr. Nadler for their leadership on behalf of pre-1972 performers. I would also like to thank Mr. Crowley and Mr. Rooney for their efforts on behalf of producers, mixers, and sound engineers.

And last but not least, I would like to thank Ranking Member Nadler for his leadership on these issues and for his willingness to partner with me in putting these pieces together into a comprehensive and consensus music licensing reform package.

Sometimes big pieces of legislation can come together only through the efforts of a large number of people who invest their time in making change happen, as so many Members and so many stakeholders in the music and digital delivery communities have done. It also has to happen at the right time.

I would note that only 1 week ago, GRAMMYs on the Hill brought hundreds of artists to D.C. to explain to their own Members of Congress how important an updated licensing system is to them. This bill delivers that for them just 1 day before World Intellectual Property Day, when we recognize the value of intellectual property and those who create it. So I am on safe ground when I say that this bill fits right into the perfect sweet spot on both timing and substance.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), a member of the Judiciary Committee and a key legislator in making sure that this legislation moves forward. He has worked very, very hard on it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), who is from music- loving Tennessee and a great champion for the music industry and people who love music around our country.

Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time I have left?

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), another Member from music-loving Tennessee and the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), a member of the Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Small Business Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, this is landmark legislation that has been decades in coming. We have not had a significant review of our music licensing and copyright laws in many, many, many years.

There are many people to be thanked, including the staff of the Judiciary Committee on both sides of the aisle. I particularly want to recognize Joe Keeley, who is the chief counsel of the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee.

I also want to thank the leadership of the committee who have worked for many, many years on intellectual property issues: Shelley Husband, the chief of staff and general counsel; and Branden Ritchie, the chief counsel of the committee.

Time doesn't allow me to recognize everyone, but I especially want to recognize the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee vice chairman, Doug Collins. He and his staff have put literally hundreds and hundreds of hours into aspects of this legislation, and I want to personally thank him for that work as well.

This legislation has very strong, bipartisan support. It is supported by groups that look at intellectual property issues across the ideological spectrum, and it is nearly universally supported by the music industry, the technology companies, and others that provide the platforms on which that music is performed.

It is going to more fairly treat so many sectors of the music industry that it would be a shame not to see this legislation pass the House with a very strong, bipartisan vote, go to the Senate, pass there, and then on to the President's desk, where I have every confidence it will be signed into law.

During the course of many years of review of our copyright laws, we learned that our music licensing laws were no longer working as intended for songwriters, artists, and creators, people behind the scenes for the companies that deliver the music in innovative ways to our consumers.

The Music Modernization Act, a product of the Judiciary Committee's comprehensive copyright review, is a bipartisan bill. I urge my colleagues to join together and pass it and send it to the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5447, the Music Modernization Act.

It has already been said that this bill combines critical pieces of legislation to update our laws, including legislation that I authored, the Music Modernization Act, but it also represents the CLASSICS Act, the AMP Act, and rate standardization, things that have been negotiated for a long period of time.

As we have looked at this and we have talked about it, this is a bill today that comes to the floor with overwhelming support, not just on this floor, not just in the committee where it passed 32-0. It comes to this floor with an industry that many times couldn't even decide that they wanted to talk to each other about things in their industry, but who came together with overwhelming support and said this is where we need to be.

I can remember when the chairman first laid out a vision that would deal with copyright. Most thought it was a dream that would never happen. In fact, some thought we would never even get text that people could agree on. They were wrong, because we did.

I want to thank the leadership of Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Nadler for their tireless commitment to getting something done on copyright, which ultimately got us here. I thank their staffs: Joe Keeley, Lisette Morton, and Jason Everett.

Also in this, Mr. Speaker, there is someone whom I also want to thank who, not only in this bill but in many others, epitomizes to me what is good about this institution. The Music Modernization Act has put my friend Hakeem Jeffries and I in, again, a leading role and is living proof that a rural Member from northeast Georgia and a Democrat from Brooklyn can find common ground. With Hakeem and I, we know that we can come together with good product when we have the right intentions in mind.

Senators Hatch and Alexander have been champions in the Senate, where they have introduced companion legislation. Congressmen Issa, Rooney, and Crowley have all been key players, and many from different States have all taken part in this. As I have said earlier, they come from many places: David Israelite with NMPA; Bart Herbison from Nashville Songwriters Association International; Dina LaPolt, Michelle Lewis, and Kay Hanley from SONA; Beth Mathews from ASCAP; Mike O'Neill from BMI; Chris Harrison from Digital Media; Michael Beckerman from Internet Association; Mitch Glazier from Recording Industry Association of America; Todd Dupler and Darryl Friedman from Recording Academy; and others, such as Rick Carnes, Mike Huppe, Curtis LeGeyt, and many others; also my friends, one sitting behind me, Marsha Blackburn as well, who has been at the forefront of this.

Mr. Speaker, before I finish up in just a little bit, I do need to thank two more, and that is my staff, who have lived with me, who have worked with me for a long time: Brendan Belair, my chief of staff, who has kept us on target; and Sally Rose Larson. You couldn't meet a better steel magnolia, who has shown herself to be such an invaluable asset during this process.

Mr. Speaker, I want to end not with the bill. We will talk about it. But what brought me to this point and what brought me to this area and why this is so important today as we move forward for generations of others: I want to take you back in time almost 40-plus years to a state trooper's kid in north Georgia whose friends were books, whose friends were music, a radio, and songs that came true. It was in there that those songs that would come out, the music and lyrics, would take me to places far away from northeast Georgia and let me travel the world long before I could even drive a car.

When we talk about copyright and we talk about the creator's spirit, it is about the creator's spirit, what comes out of their heart, that comes out of their mind, that comes through their hands and out of their mouths and into the lives that touch everyone of whom we become a part.

This is about something bigger than ourselves. And my friend Hakeem and all the rest who have worked on this show that this place, when put properly forward, can touch the very soul of America. We have new ways of hearing that music nowadays, long past a radio. And the digital companies needed a place where they could give music to others, but songwriters needed to be fairly compensated.

When I think of my friends who write music--Hakeem, we have talked to so many--it is about hopes, it is about dreams, it is about everything in this place. Any one of us in here would think of a song that could make us think of the first time we fell in love, the first time we had our heart broken, the first time we laid someone to rest, the first time we got that joyful noise of a new job or a new hope.

Today, Mr. Speaker, we come carrying the dreams of those who have not even yet understood a song, of those who have not yet understood a melody. We carry those dreams into the future.

And I want to thank everybody who has been a part of this, because today the song lives on, because it all begins with that emotion, with that heart, and with that melody.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Music Modernization Act. I am proud to partner with Chairman Goodlatte on this comprehensive bill intended to resolve some longstanding inequities and inefficiencies in the music marketplace. We have achieved consensus on this bill, which passed out of the Judiciary Committee by a remarkable vote of 32-0.

The package includes the original Music Modernization Act, H.R. 4706, introduced by Mr. Collins and Mr. Jeffries, which significantly reforms the process for licensing mechanical reproduction royalties under section 115 of the Copyright Act. It also includes a number of provisions to ensure that songwriters and other music creators receive fair market value for their work.

The package includes the CLASSICS Act, H.R. 3301, introduced by Chairman

Issa and me, to resolve the dispute over payment to legacy artists for pre-1972 works played on digital radio platforms.

For too long, many of our Nation's great cultural icons have been unfairly denied compensation. That is why this measure is supported by the NAACP and more than 300 major artists.

The bill includes the AMP Act, H.R. 831, introduced by Mr. Crowley and Mr. Rooney, to simplify the payment of royalties to producers, mixers, and engineers, recognizing in Federal copyright their important contributions to the creation of music.

Several of these measures were included in the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, H.R. 1836, a bipartisan bill I introduced with Representative Marsha Blackburn, Chairman Issa, and Mr. Deutch, to create a uniform system for sound recordings. They, along with Mr. Collins and Mr. Jeffries, deserve a tremendous amount of credit for getting us to this point.

We are at a unique moment in time where virtually all the industry stakeholders have come together in support of a common music policy agenda. The bill is supported by a broad coalition that includes songwriters and artists, publishers and labels, and internet and digital media companies such as Pandora, Spotify, Google, and Amazon.

I want to thank the members of my staff who worked for years to resolve some very complex and sensitive issues to move this legislation forward: Lisette Morton, Jason Everett, and David Greengrass. This is an historic opportunity to accomplish a great deal that hasn't been done in decades.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the Music Modernization Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the Democratic lead sponsor of the original Music Modernization Act.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch), one of the Democratic lead sponsors of this bill as well as of the Fair Play Fair Pay Act and the CLASSICS Act.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson), the ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Ted Lieu).

Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining, please?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), the distinguished Democratic Caucus chair and the lead sponsor of the AMP Act, which is included in this package.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Music Modernization Act. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill.

I am proud to come from the great State of Rhode Island, the State that sent the great Senator Claiborne Pell to Washington. It was Senator Pell who authored the bill that established the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Senator Pell knew that the greatness of our Nation is not only defined by the strength of our military or the value of our GDP, but by our ability to promote and protect our culture and history through the arts and humanities.

In keeping with that tradition today, Congress moves to make sure that artists and their creations are protected under the Music Modernization Act. Music has always been a part of our culture and history. The power of music has brought people together in moments of celebration and soothed people in difficult times. Music transcends political, ethnic, and religious boundaries.

The Music Modernization Act is the culmination of years of debate and negotiation with various stakeholders. We held dozens of hearings and heard from artists, producers, and industry experts to develop a solution that reflects the changing landscape of how people consume music and ensures creators are fairly compensated.

From the start, we were committed to making sure this bill was bipartisan and a compromise that everyone could support. Within the music community, this legislation brought together an unprecedented coalition of music publishers, record labels, songwriters, composers, artists, and performance rights organizations.

The result was a bill that is meant for the digital age and recognizes the contributions that many people are involved in during the creation of a song. For the first time, this bill will set up a collective that can give out blanket mechanical licenses to streaming services and ensure proper payments to songwriters and publishers.

Importantly, this bill also ensures compensation for pre-1972 artists who have been left out of the Federal copyright system for far too long. It also provides a clearer process for engineers, mixers, and producers to collect royalties.

It has been a privilege to be a part of this historic moment. I urge all of my colleagues to support the Music Modernization Act, and I want to thank Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Collins, Mr. Deutch, Chairman Goodlatte, and Ranking Member Nadler for their extraordinary leadership in accomplishing what is not only significant for our committee but significant for our ability to hear and appreciate and continue to nurture our souls with the beauty of music.