Bill would let indie musicians bargain collectively with Spotify and YouTube

What does this do?

This bill creates a legal exception to antitrust rules so that independent music creators can join together and negotiate with large streaming platforms as a group. It covers musicians, producers, mixers, and sound engineers who own their own copyrights and earn less than one million dollars a year in licensing income. Groups could also collectively refuse to license their music to platforms or to AI companies that use music for training purposes.

Who does it affect?

The bill applies to independent creators who manage themselves and earn under one million dollars a year in licensing income. It targets platforms that earn more than one hundred million dollars a year from music distribution. Major record labels cannot be part of the negotiations.

Why does it matter?

Right now, individual independent artists have little power when large platforms set their own licensing terms, and creators largely must accept those terms or lose access to listeners. This bill would give smaller creators a legal path to organize together and respond to terms they find unfair.

Where does it stand?