Music plays a unique role in American life. It brings people together across generations, regions, and backgrounds, and it remains one of the few cultural spaces shared by communities nationwide. At the same time, music is a livelihood and a profession. For millions of creators, it is increasingly difficult to earn a sustainable living from that work.

As the music industry has moved online, power has become concentrated in the hands of a small number of dominant streaming and distribution platforms. Independent musicians are left to negotiate individually against companies with enormous market influence, often with little transparency and no meaningful leverage. This imbalance has made it harder for artists to receive fair compensation for the music that connects and enriches our communities.

The Protect Working Musicians Act offers a practical, market-based solution by allowing independent music creators to collectively bargain with dominant online platforms where they do not currently have a place at the table. This approach preserves competition while ensuring that creators have a seat at the table, an outcome that benefits artists, listeners, and the long-term health of the music ecosystem alike.

These challenges are becoming even more urgent as artificial intelligence and algorithmic distribution reshape how music is created, promoted, and monetized. Without clear protections, human musicians risk being crowded out by systems that prioritize scale and cost over creativity and cultural value. Safeguarding fair negotiation rights now will help ensure that innovation strengthens, rather than replaces, the human voices at the heart of music.

Passing the Protect Working Musicians Act would:

• Allow independent creators to negotiate reasonable terms and compensation
• Promote transparency and accountability in streaming and emerging technologies
• Help preserve a rich, human-centered music landscape for future generations
• Support fair markets and competition in music distribution

We respectfully call on Congress to come together in support of the Protect Working Musicians Act and to affirm that the people who create the music we all enjoy deserve fair treatment in the modern economy.