Countdown To COVID Relief
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Countdown To COVID Relief: Time For Congress To Provide Relief For Music Creators

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While the CARES Act was a crucial lifeline, many of the pro-creator programs will expire at the end of the year—here’s how Congress can step in to help struggling creators
Matthew Bango
Advocacy
Dec 10, 2020 - 7:36 am

Congress is set to adjourn the 116th Congress before the end of the calendar year. But before legislators return to their home districts, the House of Representatives and Senate still have a fair amount of unfinished work to complete, including the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and funding the government. It is also imperative that Congress prioritizes the completion of a comprehensive relief bill to combat the ongoing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a new campaign, the Recording Academy is empowering the music community to directly contact Congress in support of numerous pro-music policies. Launched last week, the campaign has already yielded over a thousand letters, which argue that, “The music industry has been one of the most affected industries by COVID-19. With many CARES Act provisions set to expire, and a return to normalcy unlikely in the coming months, our industry needs additional help to survive.” 

The letter issues an urgent call to extend the expiring Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) programs, to adopt the Save Our Stages (SOS) and RESTART Acts, to include the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act and to pass the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act, which has already passed the House and been voted out of committee in the Senate. 

With the year winding down, here are four opportunities for Congress to include this essential relief for the music ecosystem before the end of the year.

Compromised COVID-19 Relief Package

A group of eight senators, dubbed the “908 Coalition,” are working behind the scenes to craft a bipartisan relief package. With a price tag of $908 billion, a recent draft of this package extended the PUA program for 16 weeks, funded a limited FPUC program through April, and included additional small business relief, specifically the Save Our Stages Act and another round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program. The package has the ability to be amended prior to passage in the House and Senate, giving negotiations another opportunity to include some previously excluded provisions. 

End-of-Year Spending

The government is on track to shut down when the current funding agreement expires on December 11 (Congress is expected to extend the deadline to December 18 to buy an additional week of negotiation), leaving Congress with the responsibility of negotiating a compromised spending bill in the immediate future. As with any comprehensive spending package, Congressional negotiators have the ability to appropriate funds for new programs, included targeted relief for music creators in this package. It has already been reported that a potential “omnibus” spending bill could include the CASE Act and other key priorities.   

Stopgap Deals

With the government funding running out, and several COVID-19 provisions set to expire, Congress could punt on passing more comprehensive agreements in favor of passing a temporary continuing resolution (CR). This stopgap deal would extend government funding into 2021 and could also include limited pandemic relief.

Tax Extenders

If a compromise on government spending and COVID relief is reached, Congress could still have time to also pass other legislation, including a tax extenders package. Since many current tax provisions are set to expire on Dec. 31, Congress has the ability to both extend expiring provisions and include new initiatives, including the bipartisan and bicameral HITS Act.

Failure to act will leave millions of Americans and small businesses in the dark and without the aid they desperately need. Congress has a responsibility to reauthorize these critical programs before they conclude at the end of the Lame Duck session, or risk having to start anew in the 117th Congress. All introduced bills—even those that have passed the House or Senate—go back to square one on Jan. 3, further delaying and complicating efforts to provide assistance and protections to music creators. 

Take Action: Urge Congress to Pass COVID Relief for Music

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Harvey Mason jr.: Congress Must Help Music Creators Survive The Pandemic

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In a recent opinion piece, Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason jr. calls on Congress to take action to help the entire music ecosystem
Matthew Bango
Advocacy
Dec 2, 2020 - 3:29 pm

The CARES Act proved to serve as a bridge over troubled waters for creators during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Serving as a lifeline to many music makers, several of the important pro-creator provisions included in the legislation have already expired or are set to expire at the conclusion of this year, including the expansion of unemployment insurance for gig workers (expires December 31), the paycheck protection program (expired in August), and supplemental funding of the National Endowment for the Arts (exhausted in June). 

Congress has the ability to intervene to reauthorize and extend these critical programs and continue necessary relief for thousands of creators. Alongside our music community peers, the Recording Academy recently drafted a letter calling on Congressional leadership to take additional action. “The live music business – once a sign of a thriving community and a draw to our cultural and commercial centers – has gone tragically silent. The music community remains grateful for Congress’ bipartisan relief efforts earlier this year, but more must be done soon to avoid a level of loss that that could devastate artists, musicians, engineers, producers, venues, and everyone in the music industry for a generation,” penned the coalition.

In an opinion piece in The Hill, Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason jr. expanded on this call by urging Congress to take action before the conclusion of the 116th Congress. Mason, who has produced tracks for Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Britney Spears, understands the fragile financial state of the music community and shares how Congress can help build a path towards recovery by including key legislative provisions in any future COVID-19 stimulus package. “Beneath the stack of introduced legislation lie several bipartisan bills waiting for action. Combined, these bills help the music community in a variety of crucial ways and will benefit music creators and small business owners for years to come,” writes Mason.

Outlining the specific pro-music legislation, Mason first discusses the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act (H.R.7886), a bill introduced by Reps. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) and Ron Estes (R-Kan.). “With music venues remaining closed, music creators have struggled to find sustainable ways to earn a livable income. Instead, many are using this time to create and produce new music, with the goal of returning to the studio in order to record,” argues Mason. A small tax incentive to help get independent artists back in the studio, the HITS Act allows these artists to deduct 100% of their production expenses in the United States, up to $150,000, in the year expenses are incurred.

Mason argues that the HITS Act also creates equitable tax treatment within the creative community, writing, “This bill would bring qualified independent music artists onto the same level as film and television creators, allowing them to not only safely reenter the studio to record music but also employ gig workers such as session players and backup singers who contribute to the overall production of an album.”

In addition to cancelled gigs and rescheduled tours, Mason next describes the immense impact a struggling creative community has on the surrounding economy, stating, “This music ecosystem is only a small part of a larger business environment made up of music venues, independent studios, and other small businesses which, while adapting to new ways of doing business, are struggling to stay afloat amid continuing lockdowns.” Mason endorses two legislative solutions to help the greater music ecosystem: the Save Our Stages (SOS) Act (H.R.7806/S.4258) and the Reviving the Economy Sustainably Towards a Recovery in Twenty-twenty (RESTART) Act (H.R.7481/S.3814).

Introduced by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Roger Williams (R-Texas), the SOS Act provides six months of financial support for struggling independent live music venues. The bill would appropriate $10 billion in Small Business Administration grants for the industry. The RESTART Act, championed by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), gives a boost to small- and medium-sized businesses that are struggling to survive the pandemic. With music venues and other music businesses still shuttered (and no reopening in sight), the RESTART Act is essential to keeping the music playing after the pandemic. “Together, these two bills will help ensure that when it becomes safe to do so, fans will once again be able [to] enjoy the experience of hearing new music, live,” states Mason. 

The penultimate solution offered by Mason is to pass the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act (H.R.2426/S.1273). “When creators produce new music, they justifiably want assurance that their works will be protected from infringement by law,” writes Mason, continuing, “However, despite copyright protection being a constitutional right for all creators, many don’t have unlimited resources to do so. The expenses incurred from federal litigation create a barrier for many independent creators to defend their rights when someone infringes on their work.” The CASE Act establish a small claims court for copyright cases through a tribunal within the U.S. Copyright Office. Mason endorses the CASE Act, stating the House-passed bill would, “limit the disenfranchisement of smaller creators and provide a more level playing field within the music ecosystem as a whole.”

Finally, Mason advocates for the inclusion of the Mixed Earner Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act (H.R.7691/S.4442) in any future stimulus legislation. “Many creators, including singers, composers, and others are actually the original gig workers — individuals who are self-employed and work on several individual projects a year,” Mason writes. Earlier this year, the CARES Act extended unemployment insurance to eligible gig workers, a subsection of the workforce typically boxed out of traditional financial relief. The CARES Act unintentionally prevented “mixed earners,” those with both traditional and freelance incomes, from receiving their full share of unemployment assistance. Sponsored by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), the legislation ensures that all workers have equitable access to the maximum possible support in future unemployment benefit programs.

Mason concludes the piece on an optimistic note, stating, “Our country is on a slow but steady path to recovery. As the 116th session comes to a close, Congress can make the lame duck session anything but lame by passing bipartisan legislation which not only helps music creators survive the pandemic but create a small note of harmony on this otherwise discordant year.”

Read Harvey Mason jr.’s full opinion piece in The Hill.

Recording Academy And Music Community Coalitions Continue Advocacy For COVID-19 Relief

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U.S. Capitol

 

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Bipartisan Package Brings New COVID Relief And More

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In the waning days of the 116th Congress, a bipartisan package includes new COVID relief and more
Advocacy
Dec 21, 2020 - 3:19 pm

After months of shifting negotiations and perpetuating stalemates, Congress reached a deal to provide the American public with additional COVID-19 relief. Congressional leadership, comprised of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), announced an agreement on Sunday, December 20 to attach the relief to an end-of-year government spending bill to be voted on Monday, December 21 and signed into law by the president. 

Recording Academy Chair & Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason jr. praised Congressional leadership on the new stimulus package, a welcomed sign for many struggling music creators. "The Recording Academy is pleased that Congress heard the call of thousands of music creators and included protections for the music community in the omnibus bill. In addition to extended and improved unemployment benefits and small business loans for freelance creators, the package includes several bills which the Recording Academy, its members, and the larger music community advocated for. From the Save Our Stages Act, which provides a lifeline to performance venues and promoters, to the CASE Act, which creates an avenue for smaller creators to defend their copyrighted works, Congress has ensured that both music creators and those who act behind the scenes to bring music to life are given the support they need during this difficult time." 

The package includes $900 billion in COVID-19 relief that will fund many critical provisions to assist struggling creators to survive the enduring financial hardship inflicted by the pandemic: 

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

Under the agreement, Congress will extend the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program to April 2021, ensuring that self-employed music professionals, gig workers, and freelancers can continue to receive unemployment benefits as long as they are out-of-work. For many music makers with mixed income (a combination of W2/1099 wages), Congress has authorized a new $100 per week bonus payment to offset some of the eligibility complications encountered earlier this year. 

In the agreement, Congress also re-imagined the popular Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program and funded it at $300 in additional unemployment benefits per week. The bonus payments will go to all individuals receiving unemployment assistance until mid-March. Finally, the stimulus legislation also includes direct payments of $600 per worker earning less than $75k annually ($150k for a couple).

Small Business Loans

The relief package appropriates $284 billion for both first and second rounds of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The program, which proved to be wildly popular under the CARES Act, is intended to tether workers to their places of employment, allowing for a quick recovery once regular business operations can resume at pre-pandemic levels. Updated guidance on the PPP program and application is expected to be unveiled soon.  

Additionally, the Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program will be replenished with $20 billion in new funding, a tool which self-employed workers and small business owners can leverage to pay for expenses. The bill attempts to address the uneven impact of COVID-19 felt by minority-owned businesses and underserved communities by appropriating $3B for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs).

Venue Relief

Styled after the Save Our Stages (SOS) Act, the legislation includes $15 billion to support live event venues and other cultural institutions, including museums. This new program, to be administered by the Small Business Administration, will help independent venues survive the enduring impact of the pandemic and ensure live music can return to the stage safely in the future. While the guidance for this program has yet to be published, the Recording Academy will continue to communicate with its members on how to best leverage these programs to assist with immediate needs in the music ecosystem. 

End-Of-Year Spending Deal: CASE Act And More

The comprehensive package also have provisions for creators beyond the COVID relief sections.  

As part of the omnibus spending deal to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2021, Congressional leaders agreed to include the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act. The bipartisan and bicameral legislation, which already passed the House of Representatives and out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will improve the currently unfair copyright enforcement system by establishing a small claims court for copyright cases through a three-"judge" tribunal within the U.S. Copyright Office. A big win for creators, the CASE Act levels the playing field by driving down the high cost of federal litigation. The bill also increases funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and includes a new provision to treat commercial, large-scale illicit streaming as a felony—helping crack down on rampant online copyright infringement operations like stream-ripping websites. 

Before this funding deal was solidified, many crucial programs in the CARES Act were on track to sunset at the conclusion of the calendar year. Aware of the burden this would cause on creators, the Recording Academy launched a campaign to call on Congress to pass additional financial relief for creators and small businesses before the holiday recess. The activation has already resulted in thousands of letters and hundreds of calls being sent to elected officials.

This new compromised solution is a step in the right direction for creators, but Congress' work on COVID-19 is not done. Once the legislative body returns in January to start the 117th Congress, focus must be shifted to establishing long-term solutions to ensure a full recovery once the lockdowns are lifted. These long-term solutions include the passage of the RESTART and HITS Acts, implementation of critical DMCA reform, and establishment of a performance right for sound recordings broadcast by terrestrial (AM/FM) radio.

Take Action: Urge Congress To Pass COVID Relief For Music

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Capitol Hill

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Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing On The Live Event Industry

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On Tuesday, the Senate held a hearing to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the live event industry
Advocacy
Dec 16, 2020 - 12:40 pm

With the end of the legislative session quickly approaching, Congress continues to confront the ongoing financial and personal toll caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, giving creators hope that their needs will finally be addressed. 

On Tuesday, December 15, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection conducted an oversight hearing regarding the precarious state of the live event industry due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Titled "Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on the Live Event Entertainment Industry," the hearing featured five witnesses from the music community, including Mr. David Fay (President/CEO, The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts), Mr. Adam Hartke (Owner, Cotillion and WAVE), Mr. Ron Laffitte (President, Patriot Management), Mr. Pete Pantuso (President/CEO, American Bus Association), and Mr. Michael Strickland (Owner, Bandit Lites).

Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) started the hearing by discussing how the airborne transmission of COVID-19 has rendered the live event industry inoperable and noted the number of industries financially impacted by the lack of regularly held live event performances, including neighboring restaurants and motorcoach companies, among others. The Chairman outlined various legislative proposals before the committee which would offer "struggling businesses a lifeline to continue operations until they can return to doing what they love – entertaining Americans."

After thanking the witnesses for their participation, Subcommittee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) discussed how venues operating at limited capacity or on a completely virtual basis are not profitable and addressed his unhappiness with the grim outlook of the live event sector. The Ranking Member stated that, "Our cultural institutions are really the lifeblood of our democracy…they are examples of our cultural heritage and treasure, and we ignore their needs at our grave peril." 

As a lead sponsor of the Save Our Stages Act, Senator Klobuchar (D-Minn.) highlighted the growing need to pass relief for independent venues. Venues are, "the heart of our communities, the place that people go…we don't want to be the Congress that lets the music die and we don't want this to be the year that we let our cultural icons die," argued Sen. Klobuchar. In response to Sen. Klobuchar's statements, Mr. Hartke, owner of multiple venues, argued that these historic venues are not easily replaced since it took generations to build relationships with both the surrounding community and the touring companies. 

Senator Blackburn (R-Tenn.) stressed the immediate impact felt by the live entertainment industry due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in both Tennessee and across the nation. "When the pandemic hit, the economy got shut down, [the live event industry] went from running wide open to a dead stop overnight…It is important to realize they don't have another source [of income]." Along with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sen. Blackburn recently introduced the bipartisan HITS Act in the Senate, to help independent creators get back in the recording studio to create new music.

And, Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) acknowledged the overwhelming impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the live entertainment industry. "Every person, business, and industry has been impacted by this pandemic but there is no question the live entertainment industry has been hit especially hard." Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) offered the RESTART Act, a bill he introduced along with Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) that would provide a lifeline to small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the music ecosystem. 

The Recording Academy continues to call on Congress to pass additional relief that will bring aid to music makers and small businesses before the end of the year. Failure to act will leave millions of workers and small businesses, including countless in the live event industry, without the aid they desperately need. 

Take Action: Urge Congress to Pass COVID Relief for Music

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Sunshine On A Grain-y Day: 5 Things Creators Can Be Thankful For During This Difficult Thanksgiving

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As we approach Thanksgiving, here are five things music makers can be thankful for during this difficult year
Matthew Bango
Advocacy
Nov 23, 2020 - 4:51 pm

During this holiday season, music creators are not looking for a gift, they are in need of an economic lifeline. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the music community swiftly and has continued to limit creators’ access to traditional sources of revenue.

While this is a holiday season unlike every before, there is much to be grateful for but also much work left to do. With support from our members, the Recording Academy continues to lobby Congress for the inclusion of essential financial relief and key creative protections in any end of year COVID relief package. Here are five things music makers can be thankful for during this difficult year:

1. COVID-19 Relief: Tur-Key To Helping Music Creators Survive

When the pandemic started, Congress acted quickly to provide necessary aid to the entire music ecosystem. The $2 trillion CARES Act relief package contained a number of key provisions to help music makers survive the initial impact of the pandemic, including a new pandemic unemployment assistance program for eligible self-employed workers, new small business loan programs, and a $75 million supplemental fund for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), among others.

But these programs were only temporary—many have expired, or will expire by the end of the end of the year-- leaving millions of creators with growing financial strain and without essential lifelines. From saving our stages to fixing our unemployment system for gig workers, Congress must pass another relief package to aid creators and to help ensure that music plays on after the lockdowns are lifted.

2. Mechanical Licensing Collective: Helping You Collect A Helping Of Royalties

Part of the Music Modernization Act (MMA), the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) was established as the new entity tasked with administering blanket mechanical licenses, collecting mechanical royalties from digital streaming services, and distributing those collected royalties to the right songwriters, publishers, composers, and lyricists.

The MLC will officially start collecting royalties on January 1, 2021, and distributing those royalties to songwriters and publishers in the months following. For more information on how the MLC works for creators, watch the Academy’s webinar with Kris Ahrend, CEO of the MLC.

3. HITS Act: Incentivizing Music Makers To Corn-tinue Creating Records

The Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act will jumpstart the creation of great new music by incentivizing creators to safely re-enter the studio. Designed with independent music makers in mind, the bipartisan HITS Act would allow artists and producers to deduct 100% of their production expenses in the year such expenses are incurred, a departure from the current policy requiring production expenses to be amortized over the economic life of a sound recording.

The HITS Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Ron Estes (R-Kan.) on July 30, 2020. Let’s hope the HITS Act will be passed into law in order to help support independent records during the pandemic.

4. DMCA Reform: Combatting Online Pie-racy

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was created to increase innovation and combat bad actors online. Since the bill’s passage in 1998, the internet has significantly evolved and the DMCA needs to be updated to reflect the current internet landscape. This year, Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason jr. and Yolanda Adams, a four-time GRAMMY winning singer/songwriter and co-chair of the Academy’s National Advocacy Committee, testified in support of DMCA reform before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. Subcommittee Chairman Tillis (N.C.) has spent the past year listening to stakeholder groups and plans to issue draft legislative changes next month.

5. Recording Academy Members: Nothing Is Feast-ible Without You!

Throughout this difficult year, the Academy has continued to call on you, our members, to voice support for creator-friendly legislation, resulting in thousands of letters sent to Congress and hundreds of meetings with Congressional offices. Congress has been receptive to the needs of a struggling music ecosystem and our community will continue to push policymakers to stand firmly with music makers until we recover from the impact of the pandemic.

As you gather around the Thanksgiving table with your household, or share a virtual meal with family and friends from a far, send thanks to Congress for the aid they’ve given and urge them to give more assistance and protections to the music community in need.

Lastly, learn more about the issues impacting the creative community on the Academy’s Issues & Policy page and take action on the Act page.

Recording Academy And Music Community Coalitions Continue Advocacy For COVID-19 Relief