HITS Act Set to Become Law As Part of Newly Passed Mega-Bill

Half a decade later, the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act is officially set to become law, with the Recording Academy, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), and others applauding the development.

Introduced back in 2020, the bipartisan HITS Act spans only five pages. And as we noted in 2021, the legislation would enable artists to deduct up to $150,000 in recording expenses immediately as opposed to amortizing them over multiple years.

It doesn’t need saying in light of today’s news, but the HITS Act, despite picking up endorsements from the NMPA, the RIAA, and others, subsequently encountered a couple legislative obstacles. That includes passing in a late-2021 House vote for the Build Back Better Act before being dropped from the Senate version.

Fast forward past several years and reintroductions to the top of 2025, when senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle once again reintroduced the HITS Act.

Those reps, Linda Sanchez (D-CA) and Ron Estes (R-KS), attended the Grammys on the Hill Awards earlier this year; Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) reintroduced the bill in the opposite chamber. (The late Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, had originally introduced the measure with Senator Blackburn.)

Now, with the House having passed the Senate-amended version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act this afternoon, the HITS Act is heading to the president’s desk as part of the mega-bill.

In a statement, A2IM president and CEO Richard James Burgess touted the HITS Act’s imminent implementation as “a historic victory for independent music creators.”

“A2IM applauds the inclusion of the HITS Act in the final budget reconciliation package,” the A2IM head said. “This marks a historic victory for independent music creators. After years of tireless advocacy, we’ve righted a longstanding inequity by enabling independent labels, artists, musicians, songwriters, and publishers to fully expense recording costs—just as their peers in film, TV, and theater have long done.”

And in remarks of his own, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. underscored that the measure will provide “much-needed support to independent artists and songwriters.”

“With today’s final passage of the domestic policy bill, music creators across the country can celebrate the HITS Act becoming law, bringing much-needed support to independent artists and songwriters,” said Mason Jr. “As the industry navigates an evolving musical landscape, this moment represents meaningful progress toward protecting creators and sustaining a vibrant music ecosystem.

“The Recording Academy is proud to have partnered with Reps. Estes and Sánchez and Senators Blackburn and Cortez Masto over many years to bring the HITS Act to life, and we are deeply grateful for their unwavering support. This is a powerful win for independent artists, giving them the support they need to keep creating and ensuring the music industry continues to thrive,” he concluded.

Elsewhere in the soon-to-be-signed bill, lawmakers struck down a provision that would have established a 10-year moratorium on state-level AI regulations.