Not since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has Congress been on the verge of passing new legislation regarding music licensing to deal with the digital music landscape. The long wait may soon be over. The “Music Modernization Act” is comprised of aspects of three prior legislative attempts and has the buy-in (mostly) of major music publishers and songwriters.
Significantly, the act would create an organization to collect and distribute mechanical royalties from streaming services; require digital services to pay labels and performers for their use of sound recordings made before 1972; and codify the process by which SoundExchange pays producers and engineers who receive royalties on recordings. It is also expected to raise the rates SiriusXM pays out to songwriters/publishers by requiring the Copyright Royalty Board to determine future rates based on a willing buyer/willing seller standard.
For more information see here, here, and here.