Future of Music Coalition

Congress has passed FY26 funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities at $207 million each - holding steady with no cuts despite another zero-out request in the President’s budget.

The votes:
House: 397-28
Senate: 82-15

ht: Americans for the Arts

Bandcamp has banned Gen AI music and audio from its platform. But Bandcamp hasn’t had as serious a problem with AI as mainstream DSPs, because of the way the service is structured. There’s no incentive to upload a glut of derivative tracks, hoping for a playlist driven windfall.

This is a good hypothetical outcome, but this scenario is at least as plausible as the doomsday outcomes some have sketched out.

The point of a licensed sandbox is that 1) compensation for artists is guaranteed 2) the business model is about engagement rather than substitution and 3) it's opt-in on the artist side. Whether an actual business model exists there is unclear, but that's true of all the AI stuff.

A lot of folks reacted with panic when Youtube and Universal announced an AI partnership in Summer of 2023. It's easy to understand why! But while AI on Youtube is nightmarish and gross, and getting worse, that "partnership" has been basically helpful in reinforcing some guardrails.

It is likely the existing settlements are absolutely aiming for a walled garden/sandbox built on licensed music without it all showing up on DSPs. Not sure how that dovetails with perfect fit though, which is about LOWERING royalty obligations.

Moreover, it comports with Big Tech's lobbying strategy, which is to point fingers at the labels as threats to AI innovation. This is the playbook they've rolled out in response to the ways that AI music has shifted popular opinion on artists' rights.

The challenge is that the press releases are so free of details, that we have no idea what the "product" is. Even generative AI has use cases that are relatively benign and there's no way to know what's on offer. (Probably because they haven't figured it out yet).

This is probably not an accurate read of the situation--because it both overstates the level of coordinated strategy between the majors, and underrepresents the level of antagonism that still exists with the large AI firms.

The impulse to assume the majors are all strategically aligned is understandable and often correct! But...this is just super complex.

And while many would prefer to see these companies sued into oblivion, a settlement that puts some clear boundaries around what they can do in the future might be a good thing!

The challenge is with NDAs, we don't have enough information to be able to evaluate the settlement terms

Seeing some misunderstanding about the major label lawsuits against Suno & Udio.

WMG has settled with both Suno & Udio.
UMG settled with Udio but not Suno.
Sony hasn't settled with either.

The lawsuits are definitely still live.

This isn't quite accurate. Warner settled with both Suno & Udio. UMG settled with Udio but not Suno. Sony hasn't settled with either. The lawsuits are definitely still live.

Mamdani's administration plans to use existing authority to go after companies illegally hiding fees. Right now, Ticketmaster is breaking NY state law by hiding fee breakdowns behind additional toggles and clicks. (same with Seatgeek, Stubhub etc.) Fees are supposed to be clear & conspicuous!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Zohran doubles down on his call to cap resale! While his focus is on FIFA, this is something that musicians have backed all over the US, and is already the law in much of the rest of the world. Last month, the UK joined the growing list of countries capping resale at face value.

given to fly

National and New Jersey Live Music Industry Opposes NJ A5611 — National Independent Venue Association Bill would dismantle fan protections, destabilize independent venues, and supercharge predatory resale.

Info on the bill is here: it would have made NJ a paradise for the ticket resale industry.

Musicians' international winning streak on ticketing legislation continues: New Jersey's A5611, opposed by artists, indie venues, and arts nonprofits, and supported by predatory resellers has been held in committee, and won't advance this session. #fixthetix

Broadcasters had one new argument: that streaming services are the real problem, and that artists are unhappy with streaming.

This isn't rocket science: musicians can simultaneously be frustrated that streaming services aren't paying enough and radio stations aren't paying at all.

It sounds more than ever like AMFA is on track for Senate committee approval. Broadcasters had no substantive counterarguments about why their counterparts in every other nation can pay musicians but they can't.

Mike Huppe of Soundexchange ends by noting that some corporate radio stations are posting margins of 18-20%. Imagine posting 18-20% profits and arguing you shouldn't have to pay your suppliers.

It's interesting to see music fairness remains an issue that doesn't break down on partisan lines, which is why there's optimism that things can get done even in hyperpartisan times.

Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a sponsor of the bill, asks NAB board member Hinton basically, if $500 is too much, then what would you say is reasonable? He won't give her an answer and starts complaining about existing royalty obligations to songwriters.

Thom Tillis pressing broadcaster witness Henry Hinton on what the economic impact on stations of a new royalty fee. Mike Huppe of @soundexchange.bsky.social helpfully jumps in to say that 4 of 5 of Hinton's stations would be only paying $500 a year.

.@schiff.senate.gov points out that college stations would typically pay only $100 per year. For low power stations it's even less, $10 per year. But that would unlock hundreds of millions in royalties from overseas where radio is less consolidated and more diverse in its playlists.

Look, we get it. But it's a sign of just how broad the consensus in the artist community to solve this problem of radio royalties is. As Gene just said, “14 billion dollars just last year! It’s not equitable! That’s a big word!”

Gene Simmons is getting very impassioned: he's right that it's ridiculous for a small commercial station to argue that a $500 annual fee for artist royalties is going to put anyone out of business.

Now the representative of broadcasters says that he shouldn't have to pay musicians because radio can't charge listeners for access like streaming services can. This doesn't make much sense; radio can't charge listeners in the rest of the world either, but they do manage to pay musicians!

TIME CHANGE: Balancing the Interests of Local Radio, Songwriters, and Performers in the Digital Age | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

The Senate Judiciary Committee is now considering the American Music Fairness Act. Gene Simmons from KISS will shortly be testifying. Watch live: