The Complexities of Music Licensing in the Digital Environment and the United States’ Music Modernization Act “Solution”

Digital streaming is now the predominant means of accessing music. Digital music providers must obtain licences for the various copyrights in songs before they can legitimately disseminate music to consumers. The music licensing regime in the United States is, however, convoluted, and difficult to navigate, making licensing of music for digital uses quite onerous. In a bid to simplify the process for digital music providers, Congress enacted the Music Modernization Act (MMA) which creates a compulsory blanket licensing system for the mechanical reproduction of musical works. The system is the kind of solution needed as it significantly simplifies the procedure for obtaining mechanical licences and reduces transaction costs. However, the restriction of this system to mechanical rights in musical works leaves the pre-MMA challenges of multiple rights clearances the same.
This paper examines the complexities of music licensing in the United States and the extent to which the MMA simplifies the licensing process for digital music providers. The paper argues that creating a one-stop-shop for the clearance of all rights involved in digital uses of music is the way forward for simplifying the music licensing process in the digital environment.

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