The Living Wage for Musicians Act passes Chicago City Council

The Chicago Local of United Musicians and Allied Workers has helped pass a resolution calling on the US Congress to pass the Living Wage for Musicians Act, in the longest city council meeting in the past seven years.

The numbers needed to approve this action were quite approachable: just 29 emails of support and a few organizations co-signing the resolution resulted in its passing.

What is the Living Wage for Musicians Act?

This legislation would create a new streaming royalty paid directly to artists, helping to make digitally streaming music a financially sustainable practice for musicians in the United States. It’s designed specifically to help support working musicians earn a living from their work.

In the 1990s, Congress set a precedent for this by unanimously passing laws that established a similar fund for money collected from manufacturers of recordable digital media, and a similar direct payment system to artists from Satellite Radio and Internet Broadcast platforms. This new legislation applies a similar payment structure to streaming digital music.

More information on the details of the LWMA.

The Living Wage for Musicians Act gains co-signers nationwide

As this legislation gains momentum, more and more musicians organizations are signing on. Here’s just a few:

The initial signees for the Living Wage for Musicians Act.

How you can help

If you’re a musicians organization (a label, venue, agency, or other allied organization) interested in supporting this action on behalf of your artists, UMAW is currently collecting signatures as part of a national campaign to get this legislation passed. Sign today and show your support!