A coalition of US music industry organisations has written to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) urging it to oppose a European Commission proposal that they say could jeopardise nearly $300 million a year in royalties paid to American artists and rightsholders. The proposal would overturn the 2020 RAAP ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which extended "national treatment" protections to US recording artists and labels, replacing them with a "material reciprocity" framework. The coalition argues this shift would codify discrimination against American creators, condition their protections on US law, and introduce a fragmented, uncertain system that disadvantages them in foreign markets.

The letter, sent on 8 July, was signed by bodies including SoundExchange, The Recording Academy, ASCAP, BMI and SAG-AFTRA. The coalition notes that 21 of the EU's 27 member states currently pay royalties to American rightsholders, and warns that a reciprocity-based system could bring reduced or withheld payments, greater administrative burden, and politically driven eligibility decisions, while also encouraging other countries to follow suit. It points to the American Music Fairness Act — which would require AM/FM radio to pay artists for recordings, as streaming services already do — as a compliant path forward. The article notes the US remains the only OECD member without such a public-performance right for recordings, especially after Japan passed a similar reform in June 2026, while European group IMPALA has previously estimated the change could shift around €125 million ($137 million) a year out of Europe.