Music Industry Groups Pen Letter Opposing Copyright Registration Rate Hikes Amid AI Boom
Categoria: Musica
Following the U.S. Copyright Office's proposal to increase registration rates by an average of 43%, advocates warn the move could hurt indie musicians most.
Por Billboard | 05/05/2026
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), which advocates for independent labels, along with 10 other music industry groups, has penned an open letter to the US Copyright Office that pushes back on the Office’s proposed 43% average rate hike for copyright registration — noting that it would hurt working-class artists and small music businesses most. The letter also notes that the proposed hike comes at a time when the use of generative AI is rapidly expanding, adding that cost-prohibitive prices for copyright registration could leave less privileged artists’ rights to their work vulnerable. The Copyright Office’s proposal, released in March , would raise the fee specifically for registering a group of musical works or sound recordings on an album (up to 20 works) from $65 to $130. “The most fundamental flaw in the Office’s cost-recovery rationale is its implicit assumption that copyright registrants can absorb or pass through fee increases as a cost of doing business,” reads the music coalition’s letter. “For the working creators and independent businesses our organizations represent, that assumption does not hold.” Related Major Labels Take Over Landmark Copyright Termination Case to Force Supreme Court Fight Fugees' Pras Michel Surrenders to Authorities to Begin 14-Year Prison Sentence, Vows to Appeal Ahead of New Orleans Jazz Fest, Former Police Officer Arrested for Plan to Kill Black People in a Mass Shooting The letter adds that the primary income streams for independent talent are “not set by the creators themselves[,] they are set by others” — like the Copyright Royalty Board, collective licensing structures or free market negotiations that give indie rights holders “limited leverage.” Groups co-signing the letter with A2IM include those representing the interests of composers, songwriters, record labels, artists and professional live musicians. This includes the Alliance for Women Film Composers, Artist Rights Alliance, Music Managers Forum-US (MMF-US), the Recording Academy, the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL), Songwriters of North America (SONA), Songwriters Guild of America (SGA), Music Artists Coalition (MAC), American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and the Future of Music Coalition. The Copyright Office noted that its rationale for the newly proposed rate hike is to keep up with “projected inflation” and “actual to-date cost increases.” “The Office’s goal is to restore recovery of the historically higher percentage of its actual expenses from fees in order to support its operations and provide high quality services to the public,” the proposed rule reads. “The fees proposed here fall far short of covering the Office’s actual costs, [but] we recognize that some of the increases are substantial and may impact some copyright stakeholders more than others.” The Offi