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Sen. Boxer To Give ELI Keynote

ELI Luncheon to take place during GRAMMY Week

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

(For a complete list of 52nd GRAMMY Award winners, please click here.)

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will deliver the keynote address at the 12th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Luncheon & Scholarship Presentation on Jan. 29 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., it was announced today by the GRAMMY Foundation.

Joel A. Katz, distinguished entertainment attorney and chair of global entertainment, media & sports practice for Greenberg Traurig, will be the recipient of the 2010 Service Award at this year's ELI Luncheon. The Service Award was established in 2006 to recognize contributions by prominent entertainment attorneys that include outstanding service to individuals (pro bono or otherwise); leadership and participation with organizations that help advance the music community; and work to affect positive change that benefits the community overall. Past honorees include David Braun, Jay L. Cooper, Paul G. Marshall, and Al Schlesinger.

"For the past 12 years, the GRAMMY Foundation's Entertainment Law Initiative has provided the nation's top law students with a valuable forum for research, discussion and debate," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy, the GRAMMY Foundation and MusiCares. "ELI brings together the legal leaders of tomorrow with experienced entertainment practitioners, and it fosters the kind of reflection and dialogue that generate critical insights into our evolving musical landscape. Within this context, it is truly an honor to have our esteemed Senator Boxer as keynote speaker, and we are looking forward to hearing her perspectives on issues critical to the music industry. It is also fitting that we will be honoring our good friend Joel Katz with the Service Award this year. This honor is awarded annually to an attorney who has demonstrated a commitment to advancing and supporting the music community through service, and Joel has been both tireless and exemplary in his work on behalf of our industry."

A forceful advocate for families, children, consumers, the environment, and the state of California, Boxer became a U.S. senator in January 1993 after 10 years of service in the House of Representatives and six years on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. Elected to a third term in 2004, she received more than 6.9 million votes, the highest total for any senatorial candidate in American history. A champion for intellectual property, Boxer clearly understands the importance of the entertainment industry to California's economy and cultural leadership. She has been a leader in fighting for protection of intellectual property in her state, in the United States and worldwide.

Katz, who serves as general counsel in a pro bono capacity for The Recording Academy and formerly served as the organization's Chairman from 1995–1997, is widely recognized as a leader in the field of entertainment law. In order to help foster dialog and representation between the legal community and The Recording Academy, Katz led the effort to create the ELI program in 1998. He served as the ELI Executive Committee's first chairman, and remains an active committee member. His clients include some of the world's most well-known entertainers, music producers, record companies, concert promoters, and Fortune 500 companies. More than 30 years ago, he founded Katz, Smith & Cohen, which became one of the country's largest music entertainment law firms. In 1998, Katz merged his practice with Greenberg Traurig, which is now regarded as the world's largest entertainment law practice.

ELI has three main components: the Essay Competition, a GRAMMY Week ELI Luncheon featuring a prominent keynote speaker, and a Legal Seminar Series. The ELI Essay Competition invites law students to write a 3,000-word paper on a compelling legal topic facing the music industry today. Past award-winning topics have featured issues germane and timely to the music industry including bootlegging, music sampling and litigation against peer-to-peer network users. The contest culminates with the winning student authors discussing their essays in a question-and-answer presentation at the prestigious ELI Luncheon. Past luncheon keynote speakers have included Edgar Bronfman Jr., chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group; Clive Davis, chief creative officer of BMG North America; Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG; and Strauss Zelnick, former president and CEO of BMG Entertainment, among others.

Once again, this year the Foundation added ELI Essay Competition workshops at prominent law schools around the country with the goal of helping students with their essays. ELI also continued its partnership this year with Box.net to allow students to upload their submissions directly over the Internet. Box.net's mission is to make it easy for individuals and businesses to access, manage and share all their content online.

The ELI Luncheon is one of the most prestigious events held during GRAMMY Week, a celebration that will culminate with the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, Jan. 31 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. For GRAMMY coverage, updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook.

Teezo Touchdown, Tiana Major9 & More Were In Bloom At The 2024 GRAMMYs Emerging Artist Showcase
Musical group Aint Afraid

Photo: Unique Nicole/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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Teezo Touchdown, Tiana Major9 & More Were In Bloom At The 2024 GRAMMYs Emerging Artist Showcase

Part of the all-new GRAMMY House programming for GRAMMY Week 2024, PEOPLE and Sephora teamed up to highlight some promising new talent from around the country with the Beats & Blooms Emerging Artist Showcase.

GRAMMYs/Feb 7, 2024 - 12:00 am

Artists on the rise got their metaphorical flowers on Feb. 1, when GRAMMY House played host to the Beats & Blooms Emerging Artist Showcase. The performance-heavy event was produced in conjunction with PEOPLE and Sephora and hosted by comedian Matt Friend.

Some took the floral theme quite literally — like Texas rapper and singer Teezo Touchdown, who took to the stage clasping a giant flower bouquet, his microphone tucked somewhere inside. With his crisp white leather jacket and white gloves, Teezo looked fresh as he performed tracks from his recently released debut album, How Do You Sleep at Night? It wasn't hard to see how late legends like Prince and Rick James have influenced his artistry, and the audience appreciated his fly sartorial style.

Another dynamic performance came from Cocoa Sarai, a Jamaican-American singer/songwriter who has worked with artists such as Dr. Dre and Anderson .Paak (the latter of whom helped Sarai earn a GRAMMY in 2020 for her work on his Best R&B Album-winning project, Ventura). The Brooklyn-born artist — who is part of the new Music Artist Accelerator initiative presented by MasterCard, GRAMMY House’s primary sponsor — delivered an impactful set that included her bird-flipping anthem "Bigger Person" and was assisted by a great beatboxer named Fahz.

As many attendees got glammed up at Sephora's makeup station, the event co-sponsor also presented one of the night's performers. Sephora Sounds highlighted twin sisters Inah and Yahzi of the viral group Ain't Afraid, whose energetic performance hit home. During their charismatic set, which featured the sisters both singing and rapping, the pair told the crowd that their lighthearted stage presence is a way to turn some of their trauma into positive art.

Inah and Yahzi weren't the only sibling duo to take the stage at Beats & Blooms. Brandon and Savannah Hudson — aka BETWEEN FRIENDS — first got national attention as quarter-finalists on "America's Got Talent" in 2013, and have since racked up millions of monthly plays on Spotify for what they like to call "laptop dream pop". BETWEEN FRIENDS performed songs from their 2023 album, I Love My Girl, She's My Boy.

Tiana Major9 closed out the event with an exciting performance that featured a song debut and a sing-along. After premiering a new track called "Braids," the Motown artist got everyone to join together for an exquisite cover of Faith Evans' smoldering "Soon As I Get Home". 

GRAMMY House's three days of events are a place for a diverse array of music industry professionals, musicians and social creators to immerse in the pulse of culture, take the torch and carry it forward — and Beats & Blooms was a powerful example of just that.

The Rise Of Ice Spice: How The "Barbie World" Rapper Turned Viral Moments Into A Full-On Franchise

Inside The 2024 Entertainment Law Initiative Gala: Fierce Advocates Reflect & Honor Their Careers
Michael Kushner and Julie Greenwald attend the 26th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Gala

Photo: Alberto Rodriguez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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Inside The 2024 Entertainment Law Initiative Gala: Fierce Advocates Reflect & Honor Their Careers

Held days before the 2024 GRAMMYs the Entertainment Law Initiative was a chance for the bold-faced names of the industry — including keynote speaker Michelle Jubelirer and honoree Michael Kushner — to toast each other and their essential craft.

GRAMMYs/Feb 6, 2024 - 08:42 pm

It was at a rollicking Guns N Roses concert in Philadelphia in the late 1980s when Michelle Jubelirer, the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Capitol Music Group, first knew she wanted to forge her life in music. 

"They were my first real concert and I can still remember and feel that excitement and energy emanating from the stage and absolutely ripping through the crowd," Jubelirer, the keynote speaker at Friday's Entertainment Law Initiative, said. "20,000 people and five performers, all together as one. That visceral feeling is difficult to convey into words, but the rush never left me and I’m always looking for even a glimmer of that feeling."

Jubelirer was speaking to a like-minded group of superstars of their craft, who had gathered in a lush ballroom at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel days before the 2024 GRAMMYs. Affectionately referred to by one attendee as "lawyer prom," the Entertainment Law Initiative was a chance for the bold-faced names of the industry from a disparate array of labels and companies, to toast each other and their essential craft, an all-important and sometimes unsung cog in the music industry machine. 

At the event, Jubelierer, who has helped guide the careers of artists ranging from Best New Artist GRAMMY nominees Ice Spice and Troye Sivan to Sam Smith, reflected on her long path to chasing that "Guns N Roses feeling." And while her current position has her at the helm of Capitol Records, she built her career on a foundation of law. 

Raised by a single mother in rural Pennsylvania, she followed in the footsteps of her late father and entered law school. "I had zero connections in music or entertainment," she explained.  "I cold-called (the entertainment law giant) Alan Grubman to ask for advice, he said to get a job at the best law firm I could."

Eventually, Jubelirer spoke of becoming an attorney for SONY Music and later, the first woman to run Capitol Records in its nearly century-long history. "I only wish such a gender-based fact was not worth mentioning, our business would be in a much better place," she said to applause. "I want to lift the next generation of female artists, executives and attorneys." 

2024 Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Contest winner Olivia Fortunato (center) receives her scholarship award from ELI Executive Committee member Stephanie Yu and 2023 winner Aron Lichtschein

2024 ELI Writing Contest winner Olivia Fortunato (center) receives her scholarship award from ELI Executive Committee member Stephanie Yu and 2023 winner Aron Lichtschein┃Alberto Rodriguez

Being a fierce advocate for the people one believes in was a recurring theme.

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. who opened up the proceedings by noting, "Just before I got here, I was testifying to the House Judiciary committee to pass legislation to protect artists' name, likeness and voice," he said. "We ask everyone to engage with your clients and push them to understand why this issue affects them, and to use their voices to make change happen."

Julie Greenwald, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Music Group, also feted Michale Kushner, the EVP of Business and Legal Affairs and General Council, this year’s recipient of the Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award. 

"It has not only been a pleasure but an honor, you have been our moral compass," Greenwald said before a video rolled of some of the music industry’s most important names, from Atlantic Co-Chairperson Craig Kallman to executive Jason Flom, musing about the impact Kushner made on all of their lives and careers. "There is not a fairer human being and no bigger advocate for artists than Michael Kushner."

"The record company lawyers who entered the music business in the 80s and survived into the today are truly fortunate," said Kushner in his acceptance speech. "We were witness to the joys of CD boom, file sharing and then industry’s return to growth with the arrival of streaming. We had to think about new ways to approach the business, but it didn't change the fundamental reason why we want to be in the business: we still believe in the magic and power of music."

It’s that power of music that Jubelirer was referring to. "But for the artists in the music business, it’s not a coincidence that the ones who are adept at the business side of things [are the ones who have the most success]," she noted. "And giving them Don Passman’s book is not enough," Jubelirer stated, alluding to the author’s legendary tome All You Need to Know About the Music Business.

"Career-wise, we are nothing without artists and anyone who thinks otherwise is either delusional, egomaniacal or both," said Jubelirer. "I hope it's clear, every moment of every day is all about artists and fulfilling my promises to them."

Jubelirer also shared with attendees a promise she made with herself upon joining Capitol: "The day I stop changing the record company more than it was changing me, would be the day I’d walk away," she said, adding that she regularly evaluates her purpose.   

"I am keenly aware that the role I play in an artist's career can have impactful and long lasting  effects. I feel immense responsibility and gratitude to the talented human beings who have trusted me to such a degree," she continued.

But for Jubelirer, it naturally always goes back to that aforementioned Guns N Roses feeling. "No matter where I find myself in this business, I will always approach my relationships with artists as an advocate, protector and fan."

2024 GRAMMYs: See The Full Winners & Nominees List

Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative Awards Writing Contest Scholarships For 26th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative During GRAMMY Week 2024

Image courtesy of the Recording Academy

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Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative Awards Writing Contest Scholarships For 26th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative During GRAMMY Week 2024

The Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative has announced the winner and runners-up of its annual ELI Writing Contest who will be recognized at the 26th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative during GRAMMY Week 2024.

GRAMMYs/Jan 26, 2024 - 02:59 pm

The Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative has revealed the winner and runners-up of its annual ELI Writing Contest who will be honored during the 26th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative GRAMMY Week Event.

Co-sponsored by the American Bar Association, the ELI Writing Contest sends forth law students to identify and research a current legal issue in the music industry and outline a proposed solution in an essay. The winning paper is published in the ABA's journal, Entertainment & Sports Lawyer.

A $10,000 scholarship is awarded to the winner, a $2,500 scholarship is awarded to two runners-up, and a mentor session with a leading entertainment attorney is given to all three. The winner will also receive tickets to attend the 66th GRAMMY Awards, MusiCares Person of the Year, and the ELI Event.

The winners and runners-up are below:

Winner

Olivia Fortunato, J.D. Candidate
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
New York, NY
Paper Title: "Post-Mortem Right of Publicity and Technological Advancements"

Runner-Up

Matthew Citron, J.D. Candidate
UCLA School of Law
Los Angeles, CA
Paper Title: "BMI's For-Profit Model and Consent Decree Regulation"

Runner-Up

Emily Cohen, J.D. Candidate
Duke University School of Law
Durham, NC 
Paper Title: "A 'Perfect Storm' For Reworking The Copyright Test"

The 2024 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award will also be presented to Atlantic Records Executive Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs and General Counsel, Michael Kushner at the event. This accolade is awarded to an attorney who has demonstrated commitment to advancing and supporting the music community through service. Capitol Music Group Chair & Chief Executive Officer Michelle Jubelirer will deliver the keynote address at the luncheon.

The Recording Academy established the Entertainment Law Initiative in partnership with the nation's most prominent entertainment attorneys to promote discussion and debate around compelling legal matters and trends in the ever-evolving music industry.

The ELI GRAMMY Week Event is the premier annual gathering of entertainment attorneys to celebrate the achievements of their own practitioners, hear from legal thought leaders, and support students who are pursuing careers in music law.

Keep checking GRAMMY.com for news about the Entertainment Law Initiative!


2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List

NE-YO To Headline 2024 GRAMMY Celebration, Taking Place Feb. 4 In Los Angeles
Ne-Yo performs onstage during halftime at the game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on February 26, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia

Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images

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NE-YO To Headline 2024 GRAMMY Celebration, Taking Place Feb. 4 In Los Angeles

The Recording Academy will close out GRAMMY Week 2024 with the 2024 GRAMMY Celebration, the official after-party to celebrate Music's Biggest Night, immediately after the 2024 GRAMMYs on Sunday, Feb. 4, in Los Angeles.

GRAMMYs/Jan 10, 2024 - 01:59 pm

The Recording Academy has announced three-time GRAMMY winner NE-YO as the headliner of the exclusive 2024 GRAMMY Celebration — the Recording Academy’s Official After-Party for the 2024 GRAMMYs, which honors the winners and nominees of Music’s Biggest Night. As well, current GRAMMY nominee SuperBlue: Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter will perform in the GRAMMY Celebration Jazz Lounge; Ben Bakson will be the evening’s DJ.  

Taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center immediately following the 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, on Sunday, Feb. 4, the GRAMMY Celebration will bring the industry together to commemorate a year of musical milestones and honor the GRAMMY nominees and winners who shaped the year in music.

“The GRAMMY Celebration serves as the perfect finale to Music’s Biggest Night, uniting the nominees and winners of the 66th GRAMMY Awards to revel in their year’s worth of accomplishments,” Recording Academy Chief Operating Officer Branden Chapman said. "As an Academy committed to serving, uplifting and advancing the music community, we look forward to the GRAMMY Celebration each year — a momentous occasion where our shared passion for music is celebrated and meaningful connections are made."

Levy, the hospitality partner at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will present this year's chef-curated menu. Following the event, the Recording Academy will once again partner with the charitable organization Musically Fed — whose mission is to mobilize the music industry in the fight against hunger — to repurpose leftover food to feed those in need in the local community. The organization works with artists, promoters, management, and venues nationwide to donate unused backstage meals to community organizations that feed the unhoused, hungry and food insecure. Musically Fed will also repurpose food from this year's GRAMMY Awards and the MusiCares Person of the Year Gala.

The 2024 GRAMMY Celebration is a private, ticketed event.

The 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, will air live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 4, from 5-8:30 p.m. PT/8-11:30 p.m. ET, broadcasting live on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+. (Live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs)^.

^Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service, as well as on demand. Paramount+ Essential subscribers will not have the option to stream live, but will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.

Stay tuned for more updates as we approach Music's Biggest Night!

How To Watch The 2024 GRAMMYs Live: GRAMMY Nominations Announcement, Air Date, Red Carpet, Streaming Channel & More