MAY 2025 -- Last week’s firings of the Register/Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter, as well as Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, by Donald Trump, sent a clear message to U.S. creators that copyright protection – and by extension – royalties paid to creators, are in serious danger under the current administration. The firings are being reported as Trump’s war on culture, but they also represent a potential devastating blow to the American music industry – an industry that contributes more than $200 billion annually to the American economy while also providing 2.5 million U.S. jobs. 

The firings at the LOC and USCO occurred almost immediately after a draft version of a USCO report was issued concluding that the unauthorized “training” of generative AI systems on existing copyrighted works will likely not qualify as “fair use.” The firings following so closely seem determined to chip away at the protections afforded creators by the LOC and the USCO. By way of illustration, technology industry leader Jack Dorsey recently issued a statement urging that American and global IP protection laws be “deleted,” presumably in favor of free access to copyrighted works for GenAI uses -- such as preparing and distributing derivative musical compositions and recordings, in direct competition with the original creators.

Unfortunately, the Department of Government Efficiency’s leadership appears sympathetic to Dorsey’s calls, despite the fact that:

This obvious push by anti-IP tech privateers, including a take-over of American IP policy through the disintegration of the LOC and USCO, would cause catastrophic damage to US culture and commerce while benefiting no one but multinational tech corporations seeking to evade royalty obligations.
 
This week, the Songwriters Guild of America, along with its ally organizations – the Society of Composers & Lyricists and Music Creators North America – sent letters to ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the House Administration Committee, stressing the need to maintain the autonomy of the LOC and the US Copyright Office under Legislative Branch oversight. Continued legislative oversight is expected to further protect the cultural and commercially important music industry and creators, in general. You can read the full letters here .