Ted Cruz objected when Marsha Blackburn asked the Senate to pass the NO FAKES Act by unanimous consent on 30 Sep, so the first federal right over your own voice and likeness now waits for a short post-election session. Until then, a cloned singer's options depend on which state they live in.
Artist rightsvia Congress.gov
The 2018 Music Modernization Act rebuilt US streaming mechanicals, brought pre-1972 recordings into federal law and wrote producer royalties into the statute. It left AM/FM radio untouched, and unclaimed song money still goes out by market share. Here is what each part does for you, with worked examples and a checklist.
Artist rightsvia U.S. Copyright Office
Ditto Music surveyed 5,039 self-releasing artists in 112 countries, and 74% said they earned less than $1,000 from music last year. Putting a song out is now cheap and easy. Getting paid for it is still hard, and the people answering the survey are Ditto's own customers.
Industryvia Ditto Music
Ditto Music's survey of 5,039 self-releasing artists found AI use rising with age, from 24% of 18–24s to 74% of over-55s. In the raw data, many of those older users are recent starters, which suggests AI is filling the engineer they never had. But the sample is Ditto's own customers, and Ditto sells AI mastering.
AIvia Ditto Music
REAPER 7.81 landed on 28 Sep 2026 with experimental dark mode on Windows, the latest of 25 point releases this year that added sample editing, spectral repair and multi-mono FX containers. The licence is still $60 for most independent musicians, with updates through version 8.99.
Releasesvia Cockos
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