by Fred Willis | Oct 24, 2018 | Uncategorized
FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL PASSAGE OF MUSIC MODERNIZATION ACT, LARGEST GRASSROOTS MUSIC ADVOCACY EFFORT TAKES PLACE COAST TO COAST
Today, almost two weeks after the Music Modernization Act (MMA) became law, more than 1,500 Recording Academy™ members from coast to coast will participate in the largest grassroots initiative for music in the nation—District Advocate day. Songwriters, performers, musicians, and producers throughout the music industry will meet with their members of Congress in their home districts, as well as numerous candidates in key districts, to provide insights on upcoming legislative issues and remind legislators that music creators live, work, and vote in their districts.
As the only organization representing all music creators, and no companies, the Recording Academy’s District Advocate day works to bring music issues to the forefront of legislators’ minds. Meetings will celebrate the passage of the Music Modernization Act, with music creators thanking those who helped to pass the historic legislation, as well as address legislative issues likely to come up in the 116th Congress. These issues include:
- Protecting music creators in international trade deals
- Ensuring independent creators have an efficient means to enforce copyright
- Modernizing the copyright office
- Funding for the National Endowment of the Arts and music education
- Resolving the long-standing FM radio royalty issue
“This year, a record number of creators found their voices as advocates. The result of that engagement was passage of the landmark MMA,” said Daryl P. Friedman, the Recording Academy’s Chief Industry, Government & Member Relations Officer. “Now, as we prepare for a new Congress with a large number of open seats, creators will remind incumbents—and candidates for seats from both parties—that their work has value in every district in the country, and their voices must continue to be heard.”
District Advocate day participants include GRAMMY®-nominated saxophonist Mindi Abair; GRAMMY-winning producer Peter Asher; singer, songwriter, and producer Mondo Cozmo; songwriter Sue Ennis; performing artist, songwriter, and producer Emily Estefan; GRAMMY-winning producer, engineer, and mixer Frank Filipetti; GRAMMY-winning musician, songwriter, and member of Lady Antebellum Dave Haywood; GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist Dave Koz; GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, and producer Linda Perry; country singer Maggie Rose; GRAMMY-nominated rapper Paul Wall; and more than a thousand other music professionals.
District Advocate day, along with the Recording Academy’s annual GRAMMYs on the Hill® in April, are credited with helping to pass the Music Modernization Act into law. These advocacy events connect music creators with their members of Congress to educate them on music legislative issues, and highlight how these laws impact music professionals in every district, and how they are important conduits, especially in advance of a new Congress.
For more information about District Advocate day and Recording Academy initiatives, visit www.grammy.com/action.
ABOUT THE RECORDING ACADEMY
The Recording Academy represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum®, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares®, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards®—music’s only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world’s leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.
For more information about the Recording Academy’s ongoing advocacy work, visitwww.grammy.com/advocacy, follow @GRAMMYAdvocacy on Twitter, and “like” GRAMMY Advocacy on Facebook.
by Staff | Oct 11, 2018 | Music News
With the president’s signature today, the Music Modernization Act is officially the law of the land. As we celebrate the harmony and unity that got us here, we applaud the efforts of the thousands of performers, songwriters, and studio professionals who rallied for historic change to ensure all music creators are compensated fairly when their work is used by digital and satellite music services. We thank the members of Congress who championed this issue throughout the past several years to bring music law into the 21st century.
Neil Portnow
President/CEO
Recording Academy™
ABOUT THE RECORDING ACADEMY
Best known for the GRAMMY Awards®, the Recording Academy is the only organization that exists to champion the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, and engineers. With no corporate members, the Recording Academy directly and solely represents music creators, working tirelessly to protect their rights and interests. From strong representation in Washington, to mobilizing the industry and organizing grassroots movements across all 50 states, we use advocacy, education, and dialogue to raise awareness about pressing music issues, develop policy, and advance key legislation. Our purpose is to give back to music makers by making sure that they’re compensated fairly for their work today and have greater opportunities to prosper tomorrow.
For more information about the Recording Academy’s ongoing advocacy work, visitwww.grammy.com/advocacy, follow @GRAMMYAdvocacy on Twitter, and “like” GRAMMY Advocacy on Facebook.
SOURCE:
The Recording Acaademy
by Fred Willis | Apr 11, 2018 | Music News, Politics
SoundExchange Urges Support of New Music Modernization Act
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and 28 original cosponsors today introduced sweeping bipartisan legislation to overhaul the nation’s antiquated music licensing laws, including providing federal copyright protection for sound recordings made prior to February 15, 1972.
The Music Modernization Act (H.R. 5447) is consensus legislation that packages together several music licensing reform bills that have wide-ranging bipartisan support. The package includes the CLASSICS Act, the AMP Act, elements of the previously introduced Music Modernization Act and the rate standard parity provisions from the Fair Play Fair Pay Act. The legislation comes after a comprehensive review of copyright law in the Committee during Goodlatte’s chairmanship.
The new Music Modernization Act contains many important changes in music licensing laws including:
- Closing the pre-72 loophole by establishing federal copyright protection that will guarantee compensation for artists who recorded music before February 15, 1972;
- Establishing a “willing buyer, willing seller” rate standard requiring all digital platforms to pay fair market value for music;
- Codifying SoundExchange’s longtime practice of honoring “Letters of Direction” from artists who want to share royalties with studio producers and other creative participants who work with them and;
- Creating a new process that will allow eligible participants in recordings made before the digital performance right was enacted in 1995 to share in digital royalties for those recordings
The bill also includes the language of the original Music Modernization Act, including the creation of a single licensing entity to administer mechanical rights for musical works.
“We applaud Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Nadler for their willingness to address many of the ancient inequities in our copyright laws that stand between music creators and fair compensation,” SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe said. “We urge the House Judiciary Committee to move swiftly in its consideration of this comprehensive music licensing reform package. Music creators have waited long enough.”
Inclusion of the CLASSICS Act (H.R.3301/S.2393) in the new reform package represents a major victory for legacy artists. It’s been 46 years since Congress decided to leave sound recordings made before February 15, 1972, under a patchwork of state laws, rather than providing federal copyright protection to those sound recordings.
“This legislation is moving forward because Congress has heard the voices of music creators asking for copyright laws that reflect the realities of today’s music marketplace. The modernization outlined in this bill is long overdue, and with the momentum created by its introduction, it’s critical that music creators continue reaching out to their representative to urge swift consideration of this legislation,” Huppe said.
About SoundExchange
SoundExchange manages sound recording and music works rights across the entire music industry. The organization collects and distributes digital performance royalties on behalf of more than 155,000 recording artists and master rights owners accounts and administers direct agreements on behalf of rights owners and licensees. To date, SoundExchange has paid out more than $5 billion in royalties. SXWorks, a SoundExchange subsidiary created with the acquisition of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. (CMRRA), provides global administration and support services to music publishers. For more information, visit www.SoundExchange.com or http://sx-works.com.
SOURCE:
SoundExchange
