Digital music has had issues with copyright law since its inception, and now 180 recording artists have signed a petition calling for action.
The petition will run as an ad in Washington D.C. magazines Politico, The Hill, and Roll Call from Tuesday to Thursday this week, requesting that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)—the act that regulates copyright online—gets an overhaul.
Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney among 180 artists signing petition for digital copyright reform https://t.co/y8c7sHNYmH pic.twitter.com/AWEX5UEXzw
— billboard (@billboard) June 20, 2016
Major earners like Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney are among the signers, along with big names from every genre of music. Vince Gill, Vince Staples, Carole King, and Kings of Leon have also given their signatures, and 19 organizations and companies also reportedly signed the document, including major record labels.
The ad will include messaging that says the DMCA “has allowed major tech companies to grow and generate huge profits” by “creating ease of use for consumers to carry almost every recorded song in history in their pocket via a smartphone,” while “songwriters’ and artists’ earnings continue to diminish.”
The hope is to catch lawmakers’ attention, and with that many artists and companies on board, it’s certainly a start.
H/T Billboard