Representative Deborah Ross, a North Carolina Democrat, reintroduced the Protect Working Musicians Act on May 21. The bill would let independent musicians and labels negotiate as a group with AI companies and the largest streaming platforms, which they cannot easily do today.
The measure was first put forward in 2023 and has been revised with AI licensing in mind. Supporters argue that individual artists have almost no leverage when big platforms or AI developers use their recordings, and that collective bargaining would give them a route to be paid.
The indie label body A2IM and the Artist Rights Alliance back the bill, and their leaders framed it as fixing a lopsided market. A long list of other groups signed on, among them the American Federation of Musicians, the Recording Academy, the National Music Publishers Association and Songwriters of North America. None of it applies unless Congress passes the bill.
Sources · 1