The MMA bill was passed unanimously in the Senate Judiciary Committee in June following a unanimous approval of similar legislation by the House of Representatives a month earlier. The endorsement of so many top artists represents a credible threat to the business of SiriusXM’s music channels, particularly as it involves specialty programs - for instance, the Beatles channel, among the most popular of SiriusXM’s offerings. The letter, which was also signed by Carly Simon, Ryan Tedder, Charlie Puth, Gloria and Emilio Estefan as well as Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, and members of The Doors and the Mamas and the Papas, is addressed to SiriusXM chairman of the board Greg Maffei, programming chief Scott Greenstein and CEO Jim Meyer along with the Liberty Media board members. The Music Modernization Act is scheduled to be “hotlined” today by the Senate - at which point any Senator has 24 hours in which to object to the bill passing out of the Senate without an official vote (Senate leadership does this for bills with high cosponsor counts that they know would sail through if a vote was forced or needed) - the legislation is facing one final hurdle in the form of objection by SiriusXM. In only 48 hours, 200 legends put their name on the line to show that we are not just music. our legacy artists.”Īdds Ross Golan, songwriter and host of the popular podcast “And the Writer Is…”: “The music community is standing in solidarity like never before. This shows their disgusting corporate greed at the expense of America’s greatest treasures.….
Says attorney Dina LaPolt, one of several advocates working on behalf of the MMA (as an attorney-advisor to SONA, or Songwriters of North America), in a statement to Variety: “As we continue to move from a product based business to a service based business, bringing the antiquated copyright act into the digital realm, SiriusXM’s unwillingness to support songwriters and artists is complete travesty given that every other group in the music industry has endorsed the bill. Specifically: SiriusXM has raised objections to portions of the bill, which aims to protect recordings released before 1972 from falling out of copyright protection, including the exclusion of terrestrial radio from mandatory payouts to rights holders. At issue: The satellite radio giant’s opposition to Music Modernization Act, which is thisclose to passing in the Senate.
In an unprecedented show of solidarity, some 150 artists and executives, including Paul McCartney, Don Henley, Carole King, Katy Perry, U2’s The Edge, Pink, Sia and hitmaker Max Martin, have signed a letter addressed to the board members of Liberty Media, corporate parent to SiriusXM.
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