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Shira Perlmutter

Photo: Library of Congress

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Recording Academy Welcomes Shira Perlmutter As The Next Register of Copyrights

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Beginning her service at the USCO next month, Perlmutter will fill the vacancy that has been left open since the departure of former Register Karyn Temple earlier this year
Nate Hertweck
Advocacy
Sep 24, 2020 - 3:07 pm

On behalf of its membership and the music community it serves, the Recording Academy welcomes the 14th Register of Copyrights to office, Shira Perlmutter. On Sept. 21, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden announced Perlmutter as the next Register of Copyrights and her service at the U.S. Copyright Office will begin next month.

“The Recording Academy congratulates Shira Perlmutter on her appointment as Register of Copyrights and extends our gratitude to Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden for this selection," the Academy said in a statement. "The Academy appreciated Register Perlmutter’s leadership and efforts on behalf of music creators in her previous role at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and welcomes the opportunity to work with her again. Register Perlmutter is no stranger to copyright matters for music creators, and the Academy looks forward to working with her on copyright modernization issues related to the Music Licensing Collective and safe harbor issues within the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.”

Perlmutter previously served as the Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs at the US Patent and Trademark Office and is a renowned copyright expert. She will now fill the vacancy that was held by Acting Register of Copyrights Maria Strong, who has served in a temporary capacity since  the departure of former Register Karyn Temple earlier this year. The Library of Congress also released a statement detailing the role and its selectee.

"Ms. Perlmutter has been an associate professor of law at the Columbus Law School of the Catholic University of America, where she taught courses on both national and international copyright and trademark law," the LOC's statement reads. "She also served as the copyright consultant to the Clinton administration's Advisory Committee on the National Information Infrastructure. Prior to her work at Catholic University, Ms. Perlmutter was an associate attorney with the law firms of Cowan, Leibowitz & Latman and also Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York."

No stranger to music, Perlmutter studied voice performance as a graduate student at Temple University from 1979-1980 after earning her A.B. degree in linguistics from Harvard University. She went on to earn her J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1983. Perlmutter began her career with two different private law firms, where she honed a specialty in copyright and trademark law.

Today, she serves on three editorial or advisory boards for professional journals: the Bureau of National Affairs' Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Journal; the Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.; and the American Intellectual Property Association (AIPLA) Quarterly Journal. She is also a member of the executive committee of the Association Litteraire et Artistique Internationale, which focuses on international issues relating to authorship.

“Shira brings to this role a deep knowledge of domestic and international copyright law and policy and a background in negotiating international intellectual property agreements. She has experience working with a wide range of stakeholders and finding common ground on complex issues,” added Hayden. "I appreciate Maria for stepping into the role of acting Register and for providing excellent leadership to the U.S. Copyright Office.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Chairman Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA) also congratulated and welcoming Perlmutter, saying, "Ms. Perlmutter will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the position, having worked in private practice, industry, academia, and most recently, serving as the Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office." Chairman Nadler also extended thanks to Maria Strong for servicing as Acting Register for the past nine months and helping guide the office through the COVID-19 pandemic and the CARES Act.

As the Academy and its members continue to raise the collective voice of the music community in support of creators' rights and fair compensation for their work, we welcome Perlmutter to her new role and look forward to working together on the critical copyright issues affecting music makers and beyond.

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Recording Academy toasts the MMA

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Music Modernization Act Celebrates Two Year Anniversary

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Reflect on how the landmark legislation has changed the music licensing game for songwriters, producers and artists two years after it was signed into law
Advocacy
Oct 8, 2020 - 12:21 pm

Believe it or not, just two short years ago the Recording Academy and the music community it represents celebrated a monumental moment when the Music Modernization Act (MMA) was signed into law by President Trump on Oct. 11, 2018. After years of advocating for the game-changing legislation, this victory for creators' rights ushered in a new era of fair compensation for music makers. Two years later, some of the bill's biggest benefits are starting to materialize.

Speaker Pelosi on the Music Modernization Act

Let's take a closer look at the MMA's ever-growing list of accomplishments thus far.

Launch of the Music Licensing Collective

Coming Jan. 1, 2021, one of the greatest promises of the MMA, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) will kick into action, establishing a better system for songwriters to be paid fairly and timely from digital services. The Recording Academy was a key voice in the designation of the MLC, and continues to work with the MLC and the Copyright Office to establish the best rules and regulations for the operation of the new process and to utilize its Chapters and thousands of members to assist the MLC in songwriter outreach to ensure the MLC’s success. Thanks to the MMA, a new licensing system to improve payouts to songwriters will officially begin on Jan. 1, as one of the bill's biggest benefits comes to fruition.

Later this month, the Recording Academy and the MLC will host a webinar to inform and empower the songwriter and music making community to take full advantage of the new-and-improved system. The webinar will be held at 9am PT/12pm ET on Monday, October 19.

Legacy Artists Get Their Due

Shockingly, prior to passage of the MMA, artists involved in sound recordings fixed before Feb. 15, 1972, were left out of receiving compensation for their work on digital platforms. The MMA closed this pre-1972 loophole that had denied older artists fair compensation. Since the MMA's passage, the Copyright Office issued final rules and regulations for “classic” recordings, allowing artists of every era to benefit from the establishment of new fair market guidelines for government set royalty rates in future Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) proceedings. 

Congressman Goodlatte for the Music Modernization Act

Ensuring legacy artists get paid what they're due had an immediate impact on music makers, bringing in more than $10 million for pre-72 artists in royalties through SoundExchange in the first year alone.

Copyright Protection For Studio Pros

A lot goes into crafting a hit record. With the passage of the MMA, the rights of those working behind-the-scenes in music took a huge step forward, granting copyright protection to producers, mixers and engineers for the first time in history. Copyright protections for studio professionals had long been a goal of the Recording Academy, and thanks to the MMA, those working those “in the booth” have a permanent right to collect their royalties.

Two years ago, the MMA's comprehensive music licensing reform did much to bring and copyright law into the modern era. Looking back on its success – and the hard work involved in getting across the finish line – reminds us that advocacy works.

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U.S. Supreme Court

Photo: Al Drago/Getty Images

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How the Loss of Justice Ginsburg Impacts Music Creators

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As the music world mourns the loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of its biggest copyright champions, it also looks to the short-term and long-term battles ahead
Advocacy
Sep 30, 2020 - 9:27 am

On Sept. 18, the music community lost a huge advocate in Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Aside from her years of work as a trailblazer for equality and nearly three decades on the Supreme Court of the United States, RBG was known as a pro-copyright jurist who routinely found herself aligned with music creators.

Justice Ginsburg wrote the majority opinions for the landmark Eldred v. Ashcroft decision, which upheld the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act and extended the duration of copyright terms by twenty years, and the Golan v. Holder decision, which protected foreign works under the U.S. copyright law. Some of the biggest names in music, from Janet Jackson to Barbra Streisand, took to social media to honor her service this country.

But as the music world mourns the loss of one of its greatest champions, it also looks ahead to how the Supreme Court's makeup will impact critical copyright legislation affecting the music makers and copyright holders RBG fought for during her career.

For instance, the now-eight-member Supreme Court will have the opportunity to affirm or redefine their stance on copyright law soon with the upcoming Google LLC. V. Oracle America Inc. case, which could significantly alter the modern treatment of copyright and reverberate beyond the software world into music and other copyright industries. With so much riding on their decision, many lawyers are referring to this as the copyright case of the century.

"It will set a crucial precedent for the future of copyright law and the United States' economy in the digital age by either protecting IP from systematic domestic and foreign copying or offering these cases legal protection," wrote former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte in a recent op-ed. "The United States cannot afford to change its laws to accommodate one tech giant at the expense of innovation and economic growth in the digital age. Here's hoping the Supreme Court recognizes what is at stake and stands up for the future of technological innovation."

The case is set for argument on Oct. 7, 2020. Meanwhile, on Saturday, President Trump formally nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve as Justice Ginsburg’s successor. If confirmed by the Senate in a quick fashion, then-Justice Barrett may further alter the high court’s view on intellectual property for decades.

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Congresswoman Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), Taylor Hanson and others gather outside Oklahoma City's Paramount Room
​Photo: Courtesy of Hanson

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Taylor Hanson Speaks Out For Oklahoma's Live Venues At Save Our Stages Event

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The Hanson frontman and Recording Academy Texas Chapter Governor urged Congress to pass support for live venues now: "No industry has been hit harder than live music"
Nate Hertweck
Advocacy
Sep 15, 2020 - 2:59 pm

While so many industries have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, the impact on local live music and entertainment has perhaps been the most devastating. With performance venues indefinitely shut down, it's not just the artists and musicians who are suffering, but also the business owners and crew.

Lending his world-famous voice to the call for help, GRAMMY nominee Taylor Hanson spoke on behalf of the Recording Academy and the music community at a local event in his band Hanson's home state of Oklahoma. Last Thursday's "Save Our Stages Press Conference organized by Congresswoman Kendra Horn (D-Okla.) was held to raise awareness of the permanent closure of Oklahoma City's Paramount Room and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local music and live entertainment scene.

Hanson, who serves as a Governor for the Recording Academy’s Texas Chapter, expressed the dire need for assistance, saying, "No industry has been hit harder than live music and entertainment industry, because we're designed to bring people together."

Adding her support for the cause in a press release, Rep. Horn advocated for the passage of the bipartisan RESTART Act, arguing that it would help to, "Save Oklahoma’s performance venues, restaurants, and businesses, and to help these local employers keep their lights on and their doors open."

"We were simply too small and too new to weather the storm of the pandemic," Paramount Room operating partner Jeremiah Holland said during the press conference.

Throughout the Recording Academy’s “Summer of Advocacy,” Academy members from 49 states, DC, and Puerto Rico called on their representatives in Congress to support the RESTART and Save Our Stages Acts. Without the inclusion of these legislative solutions in a future COVID-19 stimulus package, there will be music venues in every American city facing the same fate as the Paramount Room.

"I think it’s important for people to recognize that the stages have been there for them," Hanson added during his speech, "and right now, the stages need you."

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Photo: William Freeland/Future Music Magazine/Future via Getty Images

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Recording Academy Leaders Send Letter To Congress In Support Of HITS Act

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Over 300 of the organization's elected leaders signed the letter on behalf of music professionals to urge lawmakers to support the music community with economic relief
Nate Hertweck
Advocacy
Sep 11, 2020 - 12:07 pm

The Recording Academy has united its elected leadership in support of the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act, a bipartisan solution that would offer independent creators a new tax incentive to bolster the music community’s recovery from the economic effects of coronavirus.

On August 27, more than 300 of the Recording Academy’s elected leaders across all 12 Chapters signed a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in support of the HITS Act. The letter urges the Congressional leaders to include the HITS Act in any upcoming COVID-19 relief package in order to bolster the music community’s recovery.

"COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the music industry—tours are cancelled, venues and bars are shut, and studios remain closed. Many creators are forced to consider giving up their career," they wrote. "With median incomes of just $25,000 a year, independent music creators need a better path forward to recovery. They need the HITS Act."

The letter also outlines how the bill will incentivize new opportunities for music makers, while highlighting that the bill is bipartisan and a low-cost change to the tax code. 

"The HITS Act would enable an individual to fully expense, for tax purposes, the cost of new studio recordings on their taxes, up to $150,000, within the same year of production," the letter reads. "This would represent a significant improvement from the current tax system, which restricts the creation of music by requiring the creator to amortize production expenses over a period of years. The HITS Act allows artists and producers to choose to deduct 100% of their production expenses up front, in the same manner that qualified film and television production expenses are allowed to be expensed."

With so many U.S. music professionals impacted so severely by the pandemic, the HITS Act provides a path forward toward recovery. By urging Congress to include the act in the next COVID-19 relief package, the music professionals from across the country who have signed the letter have raised their voices in unity for the well-being of the music community. Will Washington listen?

Join the Academy’s elected leaders by contacting your lawmakers and asking for their support of the bipartisan HITS Act.

Take Action Today: Learn About The Key Issues Facing Creators And How You Can Help