
Gov. Greg Abbott (center) meets with members of the Recording Academy Texas Chapter in 2015, including GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement recipient Flaco Jimenez
A Victory for Texas Music
As technology evolves, so must the law. This was one of the messages delivered to lawmakers as the Recording Academy’s Texas Chapter gathered in February during GRAMMYs At The Texas Capitol, also proclaimed “GRAMMY Music Advocacy Day.”
They heard this message loud and clear!
Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new anti-counterfeiting bill (SB 1343) into law that strengthens protections against physical music piracy and provides law enforcement representatives and prosecutors with clear and efficient legal tools that can be used to protect the Texas music industry.
In the past, physical music piracy involved the unauthorized manufacture and sale of recordings on traditional media such as tapes, CDs and even vinyl records, which were accounted for in existing state law. SB 1343 clarifies that criminal prosecution for music piracy applies to new digital storage devices such as hard drives, flash drives and memory cards that can contain hundreds or thousands of pirated recordings.
Additionally, the bill establishes recompense for victims and provides clear guidelines to judges for calculating restitution.
The Recording Academy is grateful to Texas lawmakers, especially bill sponsors Rep. Tan Parker and Sen. Bryan Hughes, and to Governor Abbott for recognizing the importance music has in Texas - accounting for more than 160,000 jobs in the state, including more than 30,000 working musicians and songwriters – and for working together to protect and support the music industry.
Theresa Jenkins
Senior Executive Director, Texas Chapter
David Messier
President, Texas Chapter