A collection of fifteen notable music organizations have come together to express their dissatisfaction in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
In a letter to congress, the organizations note that the current DMCA safe harbor laws are “failing”. The organizations include the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), SoundExchange and National Music Publishers’ Association. Safe harbor laws currently allow internet services to avoid liability for users who post copyright infringement content on their sites. Presently, users cannot be penalized if they upload copyrighted material.
Websites such as YouTube have developed systems to take down unlicensed music that has been uploaded to their platform- but the problem still continues.
The music organizations speaking out against the DMCA current safe harbor laws are not alone. Artists such as Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney and Abba have spoken out to U.S. Congress about reforming safe harbor laws.
The setback is that the Digital Millennium Act was created over twenty years ago, at a time where the technology and media platforms such as YouTube did not exist. As time changes and technology advances, congress may want to take this into consideration and realize how this affects music creators. Hardworking artists, producers and songwriters are losing money daily because of how much music is streaming on the web at no cost.
A letter to congress fighting for a change in the Digital Millennium Act, signed by artists such as Taylor Swift and U2, summed it well with this statement:
“Aspiring creators shouldn’t have to decide between making music and making a living. Please protect them.”