,i #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #egac ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,october #be1 #bjba,mr4 ,deutch introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to empower independent music creator owners to collectively negotiate with dominant online platforms regarding the terms on which their music may be distributed4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protect ,working ,musicians ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,music is a cultural treasure and a unique source of spiritual inspiration1 emotional comfort1 community connection1 and joy4 ,it is also a powerful economic driver that directly and indirectly supports nearly #b million ,american jobs and almost #aej billion in annual economic activity4 7#b7 ,a healthy music ecosystem is a fundamental bedrock for a healthy society4 7#c7 ,fair and competitive markets for the use and licensing of recorded music are integral to a healthy music ecosystem4 7#d7 ,as music distribution has moved online1 the market for use and licensing has become distorted and imbalanced4 ,the largest ,dominant ,online ,music ,distribution ,platforms use their market power to distort legal requirements and force music creators into licensing agreements that do not reflect market value4 ,those agreements essentially dictate a price to music creators4 ,if music creators do not agree to licensing terms1 the online platforms profit from unlicensed uploads of music anyway4 7#e7 ,these platforms game the system created by the ,digital ,millennium ,copyright ,act1 which allows dominant online platforms to ignore and profit from unlicensed use of music and places the responsibility for finding each and every instance of unlicensed use of music on music creators4 ,this notice and takedown scheme has been described as a gigabit-speed game of whack-a-mole4 7#f7 ,the trade association for the major record labels spends millions of dollars engaged in this effort which it says has grown to be largely useless4 ,the trade association for the independent record labels agrees1 calling it a dysfunctional relic4 7#g7 ,an effort that is largely useless for major and independent record labels is an exercise in futility for ,independent ,music ,creator ,owners--those who own the copyrights and market their work themselves4 ,independent ,music ,creator ,owners lack the economic1 legal1 and political resources to stand up to the ,dominant ,online ,music ,distribution ,platforms and have no way to meaningfully negotiate fair licensing rates for their work4 7#h7 ,that power imbalance means that ,independent ,music ,creator ,owners are forced to take whatever terms dominant online platforms offer for their work4 ,if they decline1 the platforms simply ignore them since in most cases lacking access to any single artists' work does not present a threat to the platforms' overall attractiveness to consumers4 7#i7 ,this imbalance has decimated careers in music at an untold cost to our society and culture4 ,multi ,grammy-award winning musician ,rosanne ,cash recently lamented3 ,i see young musicians give up their missions and dreams all the time because they can't make a living4 7#aj7 ,the antitrust laws were intended to and do provide important economic and civic benefits4 7#aa7 ,a central purpose of these laws is to promote1 protect1 and strengthen fair and open markets1 including those for music4 7#ab7 ,while antitrust exemptions are generally disfavored1 should the application of the antitrust laws ever be applied in a manner that conflicts with their purpose--such as protecting the online marketplace for creative works--it is the duty and prerogative of the ,congress to resolve the conflict4 #c4 ,safe harbor for certain collective negotiations 7a7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section3 7#a7 ,the term ,individual ,music ,creator ,owner means any musician or group of musician1 producers1 mixers1 and sound engineers that-- 7,a7 owns the copyrights to one or more sound recordings created by the musician or group of musicians1 producers1 and sound engineers2 and 7,b7 either3 7i7 has earned less than #a million in licensing revenues associated with these copyrights in the prior year2 or 7ii7 qualifies as a small business under the ,office of ,management and ,budget ,north ,american ,industry ,classification ,system 7,,naics7 code #eabbej4 7#b7 ,the term ,dominant ,online ,music ,distribution ,platform means any entity that-- 7,a7 operates an app1 website or other online service that is used by members of the public to listen to sound recordings1 whether via a digital audio transmission1 an audio-visual presentation1 or any other means2 7,b7 has annual revenues related to the distribution of music of more than #ajj million2 and 7,c7 is not eligible for a license under section #aad7;d77#b7 of title #ag of the ,united ,states ,code4 7#c7 ,the term antitrust laws has the meaning given such term in subsection 7a7 of the first section of the ,clayton ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ab71 and includes-- 7,a7 section #e of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #de7 to the extent that such section applies to unfair methods of competition2 and 7,b7 any ,state law1 rule1 or regulation that prohibits or penalizes the conduct described in1 or is otherwise inconsistent with1 subsection 7b7 of this section4 7b7 ,limitation of liability ,an ,individual ,music ,creator ,owner shall not be held liable under the antitrust laws for agreeing with other ,individual ,music ,creator ,owners to collectively negotiate music licensing terms with a ,dominant ,online ,music ,distribution ,platform or agreeing with other ,individual ,music ,creator ,owners to collectively refuse to license their music to a ,dominant ,online ,music ,distribution ,platform1 if-- 7#a7 the negotiations are not limited to price1 are nondiscriminatory as to similarly situated independent creator_/owners2 7#b7 the coordination among ,independent ,music ,creator ,owners is directly related to and reasonably necessary for negotiations with a ,dominant ,online ,music ,distribution ,platform that are otherwise consistent with the operation of the ,antitrust laws2 and 7#c7 the negotiations do not involve any person that is not an ,independent ,music ,creator ,owner or a ,dominant ,online ,music ,distribution ,platform4 7c7 ,rule of construction ,except as provided in this ,act1 this ,act shall not be construed to modify1 impair1 or supersede the operation of the antitrust laws4