Senate Expected to ‘Hotline’ Music Bill in UC Effort
Expect a request to “hotline” Senate music copyright legislation this week in an effort to allow unanimous consent consideration on the floor, industry representatives told us Monday. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told us he supports hotlining his Music Modernization Act (see 1808170046).
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“Any way we can get that bill taken is a good way, and that’s one of the methods we use. Yeah, I think it’s a good way.” Hatch said: “I would hope” for a vote this week “because we’re running out of time.” A Hatch aide said nothing was concrete as of Monday afternoon. Hotlining legislation, or a “clearance process,” is an informal method in which each party’s leadership offers conference members a final chance to object to a bill before it's offered for unanimous consent. The hotline effort fails if one senator objects.
Nashville Songwriters Association International Executive Director Bart Herbison and Digital Media Association General Counsel Greg Barnes anticipated a hotline request either Monday or Tuesday, and more clarity on the actual vote afterward. Any objections to the legislation from prominent music industry groups and digital streaming services have been addressed, Herbison said, though he didn't rule out “new concerns at 11:59.” He expects a vote in a “few legislative days.”
One potential holdout is Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who opposed the Classics Act portion. A group of musicians and artists in his state wrote him Monday asking that he support the bill as introduced in the Senate. “We don’t ask for special treatment or undue assistance,” the group of some 16 musicians wrote in a letter circulated by the Content Creators Coalition. “All we ask is that you have our back.” Wyden’s office didn’t comment.