Wednesday, the leaders of 50 state broadcast associations and the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico expressed support for the passage of the Music Modernization Act (S. 2823) in a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles Schumer.
The broadcasters said the MMA “reflects historic consensus between songwriters, recording artists, producers, music publishers, record labels, streaming services, broadcasters, and other licensees to solve numerous issues to the benefit of the entire music ecosystem and consumers alike.”
[Read: Senate Judiciary Committee Unanimously Approves Music Licensing Bill]
In the letter, they noted that the MMA will “formalize Congressional oversight of the Department of Justice’s review of the antitrust consent decrees governing” ASCAP and BMI, which they specifically support because they say “will help prevent the marketplace chaos that would result from DOJ seeking termination of these decrees without a sufficient alternative framework in place.”
Also, the broadcasters expressed gratitude “that the MMA does not include any new performance royalty on AM/FM radio” and to the 250+ co-sponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act in the House and Senate.
Read the full letter and see the signatories here.