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Provides a limited antitrust safe harbor letting qualifying independent music copyright owners collectively negotiate or withhold licensing with certain dominant online music platforms and generative-AI firms under defined conditions.
The bill strengthens small independent music creators' collective bargaining power and protections against dominant platforms (helping creators' earnings and control), at the risk of higher costs, reduced access, legal uncertainty, and potential competition harms that could affect consumers and platforms.
Independent music creators (especially those with < $1M prior-year licensing revenue / small music businesses) can collectively negotiate licensing terms with dominant online music platforms and AI developers without antitrust liability, strengthening their bargaining power and potential earnings.
Independent creators can collectively withhold or refuse to license content to dominant platforms or AI developers without antitrust exposure, giving them leverage to control how their works are used (including in generative AI).
The bill requires nondiscrimination so similarly situated small creators cannot be excluded from collective action, promoting fairer treatment among independent artists.
Consumers (broad population) could face higher prices or reduced access to music on major services if dominant platforms or AI developers face coordinated refusals or higher licensing demands from creators.
Collective bargaining, even with nondiscrimination and necessity limits, could enable de facto price-setting or supply restrictions that harm overall market competition and consumer welfare.
Overlapping federal tailoring and differing state antitrust laws could create legal uncertainty and prompt litigation, slowing platform innovation and content availability.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To empower independent music creator owners to collectively negotiate with dominant online platforms regarding the terms on which their music may be distributed.
Introduced June 10, 2026 by Deborah K. Ross · Last progress June 10, 2026
Creates a limited antitrust safe harbor that lets small and independent music copyright owners jointly negotiate or collectively withhold licensing rights when dealing with very large online music distribution platforms and certain companies developing or using generative AI. It defines who counts as an Independent Music Creator Owner and what qualifies as a Dominant Online Music Distribution Platform, limits the conduct protected, and preserves other antitrust law operation.