NMPA Urges Congress to Overhaul Copyright Act Amid Spotify Battle

The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has sent a letter to Judiciary Committee leadership in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, asking for the overhaul of the statutory license in section 115 of the Copyright Act, which “prevents private negotiations in a free market” for mechanical royalty rates for songwriters and music publishers in the U.S.

On May 20, David Israelite, the organization’s president and CEO, teased this announcement in a guest column for Billboard, saying: “soon we will unveil a legislative proposal to permanently fix the power imbalance songwriters face by being subject to a compulsory license for their songs.”

Read more at Billboard