A House judiciary committee hearing with industry leaders rehashed the MMA's successes and criticism of the Mechanical Licensing Collective it created.
The House Judiciary Committee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet held a field hearing at Belmont University in Nashville on Tuesday (June 27) to review the Music Modernization Act (MMA) five years after its passage.
To examine its impact on the music business since 2018, the committee invited six witnesses to present their varying points of view on the MMA: Kris Ahrend (CEO, Mechanical Licensing Collective), Garrett Levin (president and CEO, Digital Media Association), Michael Molinar (President, Big Machine Music), Abby North (President, North Music Group), Daniel Tashian (songwriter, producer) and David Porter (songwriter, producer).
“MMA helped address some of those glaring inequities and inefficiencies in the music marketplace. I’m pleased that we have the opportunity today to examine how the law is operating five years later,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in opening remarks. “I’m interested to hear from our stakeholders here today, whether the MMA and the the MLC it created is operating as intended, and whether any improvements are needed.”