PETITION FOR FEDERAL LAW TO END THE “MUSIC MODERNIZATION ACT”

17 July 2025

In 2018, a piece of legislature was signed by President Donald J. Trump entitled “The Music Modernization Act”.  This act is unconstitutional in many ways. This petition asks federal lawmakers to pass necessary legislation to fully cancel the MMA in the United States for the following good reasons:

(1)  The Music Modernization Act of 2018 enables the use of any musical recording, namely by streaming services, for profit, without the due authorization of the owner of the recording. This is the very worst breach of copyright protection at a federal level in the history of the arts.

(2)  The Music Modernization Act of 2018 side-steps due legal process. It sets up a new and untried-as-of-yet practice of shunting copyright breaches to the U.S. Copyright Office thereby lessening the severity of stealing music’s recordings. This could, potentially, endanger the integrity of the United States Copyright Office, as well.

(3)  The Music Modernization Act of 2018 directs the U.S. Copyright Office to set a “fair price” for the use of music’s recordings. Keep in mind, this price ignores the ownership of the recordings. This will side-step the very necessary act of creating a contract and conducting fair business directly with the owners of the recordings.

(4)  The Music Modernization Act of 2018 places “dirt cheap” streaming services ahead of the fair business establishments that are necessary for artists to gain an edge in their craft, as well as to have live music shows in the United States. In other words, the MMA directs the entire industry to undercut fair prices in favor of streaming company profits. This devalues music recordings. Sales of songs must adequately support everything in the industry from music education to music stores, not to mention songwriters, musicians and recording stars whose lives and careers are always on the line. This is an unfair act against the artists and their teams. It is definitely unconstitutional business practice. The government must stay away from music completely as it is not the territory of government to control nor dictate.

                      Signature:________________________________________________________                                  

                       Print Name:______________________________________________________

                       Mailing Address:__________________________________________________                                  

                       Registered Voter?:       YES   NO    Which state: _________________________