WASHINGTON – United States President Donald Trump surrounded himself with musicians at the White House on Thursday, to sign a law that will strengthen copyright for music played on live digital broadcast platforms known as “streaming.”

“These people are going to become even richer than they are,” Trump joked before signing the bill.

The so-called “Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act” ensures that artists get their royalties on songs recorded before 1972, and establishes an independent entity that will guarantee online streaming services pay what they owe to American artists.

“The Music Modernization Act closes loopholes in our digital royalties laws to ensure that songwriters, artists and producers receive fair payment for licensing music,” Trump explained.

The ceremony was attended by The Beach Boys’ lead singer and co-founder Michael Love, rocker Kid Rock, soul singer Sam Moore from the duo Sam & Dave, Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff Baxter and several members of the Christian pop-rock group MercyMe.

“You’ve always been a big supporter of some of the best music America’s ever made,” Love said at the event.

“I remember you tried your best to help get Whitney Houston in some kind of shape,” he added, referring to Houston’s struggles to overcome her drug addiction.