Melissa Dougherty was one of those kids who was always certain she wanted to be a rock star. She remembers watching MTV music videos in her youth, pointing at the screen and telling her mother, “I wanna do that.” Melissa started with the piano, setting...

For many, a recent bill called the “Music Modernization Act”—dubbed “the MMA” for short—appears as a beacon of hope for the music industry. The bill, which proposes changes to the royalty payment process and music licensing laws, has unified the music industry in an unprecedented...