Making a Scene Presents - The American Music Tourism Act Is Now Law. Indie Artists Should Pay Attention to What Happens Next
Washington Has Officially Discovered That Music Makes People Travel

On October 9, 2026, President Donald Trump signed the American Music Tourism Act of 2025 into federal law. That sentence sounds like the sort of thing that normally causes musicians to politely nod, return to restringing a guitar, and assume somebody in Washington has once again created a committee to discuss creating another committee. This time, however, independent artists, venues, recording studios, festivals, local music organizations, and the communities surrounding them may want to keep reading. The law does not hand musicians checks, create an artist grant program, or magically turn the neighborhood club into a federally funded cultural palace. What it does is formally place music tourism inside the federal government's travel and tourism strategy, and the language Congress used is broad enough to include far more than America's famous musical landmarks. The White House confirmed that President Trump signed S. 195 into law on Friday, October 9, directing the Department of Commerce to promote domestic and international tourism to American locations and events important to music tourism. Read the White House announcement

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