When you think music modernization…what are the two artists who you think of? If you answered Kid Rock and Kanye West, you win some sort of prize.
Both musicians are scheduled to attend a White House signing by President Donald Trump of the Music Modernization Act. Recording Academy President and CEO Neil Portnow and Recording Industry Association of America President Mitch Glazier are also expected to attend. According to a DC Reporter, look at these other artists in attendance:
At White House for music bill signing:
Kid Rock
Michael Love of The Beach Boys
Sam Moore of Sam & Dave
Craig Moore
John Rich of Big & Rich
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter of The Doobie Brothers
Bart Millard and Nathan Cochran of MercyMe— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 11, 2018
Only the finest artists.
What exactly is the Music Modernization Act? Loudwire broke it down. It fights for fair royalty pay and is split into four main parts:
- Ending the bulk Notice of Intent (NOI) process through the Copyright Office, which can prevent songwriters from being compensated or compensated in a timely manner.
- Requiring the Copyright Royalty Board to consider free-market conditions when determining royalty rates.
- Enacting a “wheel” approach so the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) are assigned random judges for rate setting disputes instead of being assigned the same court judge for all cases.
- Moving the industry to a fairer system under which performance rights organizations and songwriters would have the opportunity to present evidence about the other facets of the music ecosystem to judges.
Ultimately, the passing of this bill is a good thing, especially for songwriters, regardless of political affiliation, and is something that should've happened a long time ago. As of this writing, Rock had just entered the White House and he was already making friends with the press:
A reporter asked Kid Rock if the President should fire Sessions, Rock responded “fire you.” pic.twitter.com/6GyAjhdr2R
— Jesse Seidman (@jmseidman) October 11, 2018
President Trump signs the Hatch-Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. @KidRock, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (The Doobie Brothers) and others in attendance. pic.twitter.com/RwjCL9FqD3
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 11, 2018
Kid Rock on the steps of the White House with Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to the President
Update: The signing has went down and Kanye was nowhere to be found. He was seen arriving at the DC airport moments ago, but the bill was signed. Video of the signing can be seen below. Kid Rock's speech can be heard 46:40.
[youtube=https://youtu.be/HFTcG9NPTCM][/youtube]
We'll keep this post updated as the signing progresses. It's happening any moment.
This would be Rock's second visit to the White House. He visited shortly after Trump was inaugurated last year with Ted Nugent and Sarah Palin, which led to quite the photo-op.
