Protect Working Musicians Act of 2026

Hozzl · 2026-06-01T14:11:23Z

Explore the details of House Bill 8994 Protect Working Musicians Act of 2026 currently in Congress. Get insights into its purpose, current status, sponsors, and potential impact on Commerce. Stay informed on legislative developments.

6/1/2026, 2:11 PM

Summary of Bill HR 8994

The Protect Working Musicians Act of 2026, designated as H.R. 8994 in the 119th Congress and introduced on May 21, 2026, aims to support and protect musicians in their work. Specific provisions and directives within the bill are not directly provided in the context object. For detailed information on the bill's content and specific actions proposed, please refer to the bill text available at the following link: https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/hr8994/BILLS-119hr8994ih.htm.

Congressional Summary of HR 8994

Protect Working Musicians Act of 2026

This bill allows certain individual music creator owners to collectively negotiate music licensing terms with dominant online music distribution platforms or companies engaged in development or deployment of generative artificial intelligence, including the right to collectively refuse to license their music to such platforms or companies.

Individual music creator owners include musicians, producers, and technicians who own the copyright to a recording and either (1) earned less than $1 million in associated revenues during the prior year, or (2) qualify as a record production and distribution small business.

Dominant online music distribution platforms include interactive online services with annual revenues from music distribution of more than $100 million. Generative artificial intelligence includes artificial intelligence systems that are capable of producing novel text, video, images, audio, and other media based on prompts or other forms of inputted data.

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Current Status of Bill HR 8994

Bill HR 8994 is currently in the status of Bill Introduced since May 21, 2026. Bill HR 8994 was introduced during Congress 119 and was introduced to the House on May 21, 2026. Bill HR 8994's most recent activity was Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. as of May 21, 2026

Bipartisan Support of Bill HR 8994

Total Number of Sponsors

Democrat Sponsors

Republican Sponsors

Unaffiliated Sponsors

Total Number of Cosponsors

Democrat Cosponsors

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Policy Area and Potential Impact of Bill HR 8994

Primary Policy Focus

Commerce

Alternate Title(s) of Bill HR 8994

Protect Working Musicians Act of 2026

To empower independent music creator owners to collectively negotiate with dominant online platforms regarding the terms on which their music may be distributed.