The Protect Working Musicians Act would allow independent music creators to collectively negotiate with large streaming platforms and artificial intelligence companies without violating antitrust laws. Currently, individual musicians who own their own copyrights lack the bargaining power to negotiate fair licensing rates and must accept whatever terms dominant platforms like Spotify and Apple Music offer, or have their music distributed unlicensed anyway. The bill creates a legal safe harbor specifically for independent music creators earning less than $1 million annually in licensing revenue to band together during negotiations, as long as discussions address more than just price and treat similarly situated creators equally. The legislation addresses concerns that the current system has devastated music careers and forced young musicians to abandon their work, while major platforms profit from an imbalanced market. No specific funding or implementation timeline is specified in the bill text.