WASHINGTON D.C. (CelebrityAccess) — Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) and Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) announced the introduction of the Living Wage for Musicians Act.
The proposed legislation, created in partnership with United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) and local and national artists, would create a new streaming royalty of a penny per stream.
The Living Wage for Musicians Act would tax providers’ non-subscription revenues and add a small fee to the price of music streaming subscriptions. DSPs, such as Spotify, would pass their taxed revenues and royalties to a non-profit collection and distribution fund, that would in turn pay artists in proportion to their monthly streams.
Additionally, the bill includes a per-track cap on royalty payments in order to generate more sustainable income for a broader and more diverse set of artists beyond high profile artists.
“There is a lot of talk in the industry about how to ‘fix’ streaming – but the streaming platforms and major labels have already had their say for more than a decade, and they have failed musicians,” said UMAW organizer and musician Damon Krukowski. “The Living Wage for Musicians Act presents a new, artist-centered solution to make streaming work for the many and not just the few. We need to return value to recordings by injecting more money into the system, and we need to pay artists and musicians directly for streaming their work.”
“Detroit is one of the music capitals of the world, and our artists here have changed the music industry and our culture in so many incredible ways,” said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. “It’s only right that the people who create the music we love get their fair share, so that they can thrive, not just survive.”
It is unclear if the proposed bill will gain widespread support in congress and is likely to face stiff opposition from streamers such as Google, Apple, and Spotify.
The full text of the bill is available here.
