Rep. Ross introduces bill to give indie musicians collective bargaining power
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Surrounded by award-winning musicians, U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat from Wake County, made the case Thursday for legislation that would give musicians more power to collectively bargain against music streaming and artificial intelligence companies.
Why it matters: At a press conference at the Pour House in Raleigh, local musicians like Tift Merritt, Shirlette Ammons and Rissi Palmer, as well as Merge Records co-founder Laura Ballance, said low payouts on streaming platforms are making it harder for artists to make a living.
- On top of that, they worry that AI companies are using their art without compensation to train models that make music that will crowd out human artists.
Driving the news: Earlier this month, Ross introduced the "Protect Working Musicians Act of 2026," which she says would give independent musicians more of an ability to collectively bargain over streaming payouts or compensation from AI companies for training their models off their songs.
Friction point: AI artists have even begun charting on country music charts, Axios Nashville reported. And the AI music company Suno, which allows users to create full pieces of music with AI, recently raised money at a $5 billion valuation.
- "All I see is a new way to steal and a new way to cut [musicians] out, and I'm not OK with that," Palmer, a country artist from Durham, said.
Zoom in: Merritt, a singer-songwriter from Raleigh, said that streaming platforms have fundamentally changed how musicians make money.
- If 100,000 streams is only worth $300, it makes it harder to justify going into debt to produce an album. Artists on major labels can often negotiate better rates than independent artists, she added.
- "The streaming wage was negotiated in backdoor deals between major labels and Spotify," she said. Independent musicians "were not at the table."
What's next: The bill is unlikely to pass this year, Ross admitted, but she is hopeful it could gain more momentum if Democrats take a majority in the House.