Texas Chapter Advocacy Day
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Texas Chapter Advocacy Day Unites Music Champions in the Lone Star State

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On March 30, the Recording Academy’s Texas Chapter hosted their annual advocacy day, empowering music advocates to call for creator-friendly legislative reform
Advocacy
Apr 2, 2021 - 10:43 am

Over the past year, Texas's beloved music scene has been dangerously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, being the state with the highest venue closures out of any other. With music venues closed, crew members underemployed, managers with no gigs to book, and musicians with no stages to perform on, the Texas music scene and those that make it go-round have continued to suffer over the past year. 

Prior to the pandemic, the vibrant Texas music industry accounted for 210,000 jobs. And more than just contributing to state economy, Texas's rich musical heritage is admired and valued nationally and around the world. Last month's 63rd GRAMMY Awards amplified and celebrated the tremendous music exported by Texans in the past year, including music from Beyoncé, Black Pumas, Megan Thee Stallion, Post Malone, Ruthie Foster, Snarky Puppy, and many more.  While Corpus Christi's Selena and Dallas's DJ Spinderella with Salt-N-Pepa both received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award. 

For those familiar with the Texas music scene, it is clear that most music creators earn their living from touring and gigs. Since that has been at standstill for over a year now, the ripple effect from this lost revenue has impacted artists and their teams, crews, music venues, and many others in the music ecosystem, including music manufacturers and record producers.

The Texas Chapter understood the dire financial outlooks facing members of their creative community and decided to take action. On Tuesday, March 30, the Texas Chapter and its members united to host and participate in the virtual "Texas Advocacy Day."

More than 75 members state-wide, including past and current GRAMMY® nominees and winners, came together for Texas Music Advocacy Day and met with over 30 offices. The event was sponsored by State Representative Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi) and State Senator Carol Alvarado (D-Houston). Participants representing the Academy's Texas Chapter included multi-GRAMMY nominee Bun B, prominent producer and multi-GRAMMY winner Larry "S1" Griffin, Latin GRAMMY nominee and artist Gina Chavez, multi-GRAMMY nominee and Gospel artist Brian Courtney Wilson, GRAMMY-nominated record producer and Recording Academy Chapter Trustee Tim Palmer, Recording Academy Chapter President Carlos Alvarez, and many more of note.

While this year's event was held virtually, many members participated in the event and used their voices to call on their elected officials to enact meaningful relief programs for the struggling music ecosystem. "Many of the legislators need to be made aware of the fact that the 'ripple effect' of the pandemic is only now becoming fully visible in our industry," said Palmer. "As a producer and mixer, I worked through the early part of the pandemic with no issues at all, but now I'm beginning to see a change. Without live show income, many artists basically have no money left to be able to spend on production, mixing and studio costs. The return of live music is so separately needed as earning a living wage from streaming is still largely a fantasy to most artists. We all really need to step up and advocate for our music community and get them the help they need and deserve. Texas Advocacy Day was hopefully a step closer to our goals."

The music community was one of the first sectors shuttered by the pandemic and will be one of the last to return to normal operations. Understanding what is at risk, Texas Chapter advocates lobbied on behalf of three key provisions to help assist the ailing ecosystem. First, participants requested that the state legislators re-appropriate state funding received under the CARES Act to organizations, like MusiCares, in order to better support local creators. Next, advocates shared their support of H.B. 3836, which protects both creators and consumers from online criminals who disseminate and distribute unauthorized music. Finally, creators urged policymakers to oppose H.B. 434, which removes the fine arts credit requirement for high school students.

"The Texas Chapter of the Recording Academy has heard the stories of our members and continues to advocate for and serve our music community as best we can. That's why we organized Texas Music Advocacy Day on March 30th, while our state lawmakers are in session, so we can talk to them about the ways they can support Texas music," said Executive Director Christee Albino Bird. "We're asking for additional relief needed for music professionals as we continue down this long road to recovery, support for Fine Arts programs in public schools, and to support bills that protect creators' from online theft and that help music venues recover from the pandemic."

Texas Advocacy Day proved to be an incredible moment for the music community, and legislators are now brief on the needs of the music community. "We are doing everything we can to support the music industry. You have an advocate here," said Representative Hunter.

Thank you to all the music advocates who participated in this year's activation. The Recording Academy and the Texas Chapter look forward to hosting an in-person advocacy day in Austin next year.

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Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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Poll: From Bad Bunny To Taylor Swift, Which 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show Performer Are You Most Excited About?

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BTS, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Brandi Carlile, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Mickey Guyton, HAIM, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Lil Baby, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles and more are also part of the stacked GRAMMYs lineup
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Mar 8, 2021 - 1:17 pm

The Recording Academy just shared the full performance lineup for the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show, taking place Sun., March 14. The stacked lineup includes Bad Bunny, Black Pumas, Cardi B, BTS, Brandi Carlile, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Mickey Guyton, HAIM, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Lil Baby, Dua Lipa, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Megan Thee Stallion, Maren Morris, Post Malone, Roddy Ricch, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift.

We're pretty certain you're looking forward to seeing all of these sets as much we are, and we want to know which artist you're most excited to see light up the stage!

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Which 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show Performer Are You Most Excited About?

For more info on all the special guests, please visit our GRAMMY Awards performers and presenters page here.

Make sure to check out the many exciting 2021 (virtual) GRAMMY Week events this week, kicking off with GRAMMY In The Schools Fest and Women In The Mix today. The massive week concludes, as always, with the Biggest Night In Music, where you can catch all the epic performers and big winners. The 63rd GRAMMY Awards will be hosted by the one and only Trevor Noah—tune in to CBS or Paramount+ on Sun., March 14 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT for all the action.

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Covid-19 Vaccine

Photo: Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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How The Recording Academy & the Dept. of Health And Human Services Teamed Up To Address COVID-19 Vaccines and a Return to Live Music

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In a candid panel spearheaded by the Recording Academy and the Dept. of Health and Human Services, Valeisha Butterfield Jones and Dr. Cameron Webb discussed vaccine acceptance among Black communities and a return to live music
Morgan Enos
Advocacy
Jun 17, 2021 - 12:00 pm

On June 11, the Recording Academy and the Department of Health and Human Services partnered on a We Can Do This LIVE Twitter Spaces discussion on vaccines, safety, and a return to live music. The Recording Academy’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Valeisha Butterfield Jones hosted the event, which also featured White House Senior Policy Advisor for COVID-19 Equity Dr. Cameron Webb, who represented the Biden Administration.

As part of Black Music Month and the White House’s Month of Action in June, this event was geared specifically to Black Americans with a focus on the under-40 demographic. The goal was to host an open forum offering authentic and transparent expertise, personal perspective, and highlight a path forward to resume live music following nearly 18 months of shuttered venues and canceled tours.

The panel focused on the positive side of vaccines and their role in getting “back to normal,” particularly when it comes to live music—vaccines are the best way to defeat the virus and get back to safely attending concerts, gathering with family and friends, indoor dining, weddings, sporting events, and travel. Webb, who treated COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic, broke down in layman’s terms the science behind the vaccines, how they work, what they do inside your body, and their effectiveness in combatting the virus. 

Webb also acknowledged, without judgment, many Black Americans’ trepidation about getting the shot, especially with still-fresh memories of experimental medical procedures inflicted on these communities throughout American history. (To say nothing of the fact that COVID-19 disproportionately affected people of color.)

“The scars of that are very visible, and there are contemporary injustices in places all over this country,” Webb noted, citing racist atrocities like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which withheld lifesaving treatment for Black men. “I want to be very clear: People are right to say, ‘Hey, it hasn’t been fair for Black bodies here in the United States when it comes to health.’ That is a verifiable truth.”

While Webb expressed deep compassion about these concerns, he tried to steer listeners’ perception of the COVID-19 vaccines as being an agent to stop the next Tuskegee Syphilis Study, not bring it on again. “One of the things that’s a way for us to prevent COVID is the vaccines,” he said.

“That’s something that we want to make sure isn’t withheld from us. It’s so important that we have access,” Webb continued. “That’s the legacy of what we’ve learned from Tuskegee, is that we won’t stand by and watch our community have lifesaving interventions withheld from our community the way it happened in Tuskegee. That’s why we’re fighting for folks to have access to vaccines.”

Furthermore, Webb noted the Black representation in the development of the vaccines—not only in the (voluntary) test subjects, but in the pool of researchers who developed them and the members of the Food and Drug Administration who approved them. “If you look at how representative the trials were, more than 10% of the participants were Black,” he said. “In some studies, up to 40% were from communities of color.”

And because of their willingness to serve the cause of science, the vaccines developed by Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and other companies have caused deaths in communities of color to plummet.

“They are creating a pathway back toward normalcy,” Webb said. “They’re allowing grandparents to survive this pandemic, to see their grandbabies grow up, and that’s what we want to see through this … If communities of color are less vaccinated today, they will see more deaths tomorrow, as this pandemic goes on.”

For the music community, the pathway back toward normalcy depends on vaccine rates and acceptance—the more people who get vaccinated, the faster we can get back to seeing concerts, which are already trickling back. Owner and developer of D.C.’s famed Howard Theatre Roy “Chip” Ellis, also spoke during the We Can Do This LIVE event, in which he enthused that times have been rocky over the past year and change—but they can’t wait to open their doors again.

Many venues, like the Howard, struggled without audiences for the duration of the pandemic, but hope is on the horizon with vaccinated audiences and a resumption of live music. Additionally, billions of dollars in federal support are beginning to trickle out to venues in need as part of the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program—an unprecedented relief program that the Recording Academy helped pass into law at the end of 2020.

With vaccine numbers continue to increase and concert calendars filling up for later this summer and into the fall, Webb and Butterfield Jones wrapped the Twitter Spaces on an optimistic note as they reminisced about the best concert they’ve attended (Jay-Z in Chicago for Webb), and named their personal “bucket lists” for shows they can’t wait to see in a post-COVID future (Usher in Vegas for Butterfield Jones).

Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Update: Don’t Forget To Apply Before Funds Run Out

GRAMMYs

Photo: Kevin Nixon/Future Music Magazine/Future/Getty Images

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How Legislators & Advocates Are Taking A Stand Against Spotify's Payola-Like Practices

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Before the pandemic hit, music creators were already hobbled by the rise of streaming platforms. Now, their "Discovery Mode" is facing scrutiny from the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee
Morgan Enos
Advocacy
Jun 10, 2021 - 3:03 pm

Back in late 2020, Spotify announced their "Discovery Mode" feature, in which artists could forfeit part of their royalty payment in exchange for increased visibility on the platform's radio and autoplay algorithms. Understandably, this led to controversy within the music creator community.

Now, the federal government is involved. The House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over many music-related legislative reforms, recently sent Spotify a letter voicing their concerns on the “Discovery Mode” rollout and requesting additional information to ensure it was not encouraging a "race to the bottom."

"At a time when the global pandemic has devastated incomes for musicians and other performers, without a clear path back to pre-pandemic levels, any plan that could ultimately lead to further cut pay for working artists and ultimately potentially less consumer choice raises significant policy issues," declared Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Chairman Hank Johnson (D-Ga.).

"Core copyright industries like music play an integral role in the U.S. economy, and the vitality of the industry is undermined when artists’ hard work is undervalued. Such a race to the bottom threatens to weaken the core goal of copyright and intellectual property—incentivizing creativity by offering a fair return on one’s work."

At a time when music makers struggle in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spotify is exploring avenues that could undermine the financial stability of the creative workforce. "Discovery Mode" is reminiscent of past payola practices and serves as another reminder that the digital service is more worried about lining their shareholders' pockets than protecting those generating its content.

Payola, or the practice of requiring compensation in return for airplay by broadcasters, decreases the diversity of music included in airplay and provides an unfair barrier of entry for smaller artists. While it is not explicitly illegal for digital streaming services, Spotify’s decision to entice struggling creators to further reduce their royalty is a telltale sign of their extractive impact on the music ecosystem.

The Recording Academy, which first spoke out against this anti-creator policy in the fall, has a history of standing with creators against payola-like schemes. In 2007, the Recording Academy penned a letter to then-Federal Communications Chairman (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin in support of the FCC's pending payola investigations into Big Radio. The Academy urged the FCC to continue oversight to "ensure that future conduct in violation of the payola laws will not occur" and to intervene if any such conduct occurs.

"Without commenting on any of the specific payola investigations, the Recording Academy has long been concerned about the pernicious impact of payola and related conduct on the availability to the public of diverse sources of music and of the opportunities for artists, including those not affiliated with major recording labels, to have their music played by broadcast stations," the letter read in part.

Other groups in the music industry are joining the Academy in siding with creators against payola-like practices. The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers served Spotify an open letter in response to Discovery Mode, while the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and the Artists Rights Alliance penned op-eds in Billboard and Rolling Stone arguing against this new mode.

With the help of Congress, the Recording Academy is confident that Spotify will see reason, reconsider its payola-like practices and—once and for all—begin to pay artists what they deserve.

Congress: It's Time To Side With Music Creators Over Big Radio

Lousiana Advocacy Day

Louisiana Advocacy Day

Stephen Meaux2021

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Louisiana Advocacy Day Continues The Recording Academy’s State Action

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On June 1, the Recording Academy hosted its annual Louisiana Music Advocacy Day at the State Capitol, where Tarriona “Tank” Ball of Tank and the Bangas performed and local members met with legislators and representatives
Morgan Enos
Advocacy
Jun 3, 2021 - 2:35 pm

The Recording Academy hosted its annual Louisiana Music Advocacy Day at the State Capitol on Tuesday, June 1.

Part of this celebration was purely musical: GRAMMY-nominated singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball of Tank and the Bangassang the National Anthem in both the House and Senate chambers. Another part was all business: Members of the Academy held a number of key meetings with legislators, along with meetings with representatives from the Louisiana Economic Development’s Entertainment Office and the Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

Attendees representing the Academy included Ball, Sean Ardoin (Memphis Chapter President, GRAMMY nominee), Michelle Colon, Kate Duncan, Kate Durio, Justin Garner, Charles Gaspard, Terrell Griffin, Kelly Love Jones, Quiana Lynell (Memphis Chapter Governor), Sherri McConnell, Tavia Osbey, Paul Sammarco, GRAMMY-winner Terrance Simien, and the Academy’s Reid Wick. 

The event marks only the latest effort from the Recording Academy in supporting music industry-friendly legislation in Louisiana. During this session, the Academy pursued the opportunity to educate the large number of newly-elected state legislators on the proven and growing value the local music industry brings to the state’s economy. The Academy also took the next step of formalizing its first state-level Advocacy & Public Policy initiative, the GRAMMY Advocacy Louisiana Fund.

One of the immediate goals of the Academy remains passing House Bill 445 into law, which would make important changes to the Sound Recording/Quality Music Company (QMC) incentives program. The QMC incentive, which the Academy helped pass in 2017, is a payroll tax incentive aimed at creating full-time permanent jobs in Louisiana’s music industry; the current law needs some tweaks for it to truly be useful in achieving the goal of growing the Louisiana music industry.

The Academy worked with Rep. Ryan Bourriaque (Abbeville) to introduce H.B. 445, which would improve the QMC, and has now successfully passed the House and Senate. The House and Senate versions of the bill are currently being reconciled in committee. From there, it will go to Governor John Bel Edwards to become law and mark a significant accomplishment for the Academy’s Memphis Chapter and the Louisiana music community.

While support from the Recording Academy Advocacy team located in Washington, D.C., the Academy and its members have championed creator-friendly legislation on the state-level for years. Earlier this year, the Academy’s Texas Chapter participated in their own advocacy day.

The Academy has also landed recent state victories for California creators. Throughout 2019 and into 2020, the Recording Academy and its members effectively negotiated an amendment to Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) exempting the music ecosystem from the bill, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on September 4, 2020. Currently, the Academy is also working in California to pass the FAIR Act, which would ensure that artists across the state are freed from excessive restrictions that stifle their ability to earn and create. The bill is currently in the state assembly for consideration, and the Academy will continue to work with key stakeholders to advance the legislation in appropriate committees.

Across the country, music advocates can rest assured that the Recording Academy is making key steps at the state-level to bolster local music ecosystems and protect local music creators. From Sacramento, to Austin, to Baton Rouge, and beyond, the Academy is championing the causes of music makers everywhere! 

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