President-elect Joe Biden (L) and Harvey Mason jr. (R), Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy

President-elect Joe Biden (L) and Harvey Mason jr. (R), Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy

 

Photo: Adam Schultz

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Welcome President Biden And Vice President Harris: Let's Get To Work!

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The Recording Academy congratulates President Biden and Vice President Harris, and looks forward to collaborating with the new administration to aid music-makers
Advocacy
Jan 20, 2021 - 7:04 am

With today's historic inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris, the Recording Academy looks forward to working collaboratively with their Administration on important priorities that impact America's music creators. As the only organization that represents the interests of all music creators—songwriters, performers, and studio professionals—the Recording Academy stands ready to assist in building back better the American creative economy and workforce.

President Biden has a well-documented record of supporting the creative workforce and understanding the necessity of a healthy and vibrant domestic music ecosystem. In the Senate, President Biden served as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, advocated for fair market value for digitally transmitted music by serving as an original co-sponsor of the Perform Act of 2007, and drafted a report examining how to best combat intellectual property theft both at home and abroad. And as Vice President, President Biden continued his fight on behalf of creators by fighting for strong IP protections in trade deals and combatting overseas piracy, work that was honored during GRAMMYs on the Hill in 2011. 

Sen. Harris (D-CA)

Sen. Harris (D-CA) speaks during a hearing on "Protecting and Promoting Music Creation for the 21st Century" on May 15, 2018 in Washington, DC | Photo: Leigh Vogel/WireImage

Vice President Harris has also proven to be an invaluable ally to the creative workforce. As Attorney General of California, Vice President Harris created the eCrime Unit to enforce anti-piracy laws, and successfully secured a Department of Justice grant to increase state law enforcement agencies' ability to combat intellectual property theft. In the Senate, Vice President Harris was one of the original sponsors of the Senate's Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act, and signed on as an original co-sponsor of the Music Modernization Act. Most recently, she served as a member of the Senate Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have already signaled their continued support of the music ecosystem when rolling out their COVID-19 stimulus plan, which is on track to be one of the new administration's first legislative accomplishment. Titled the "American Rescue Plan," the proposed package provides music creators with essential financial relief, including extending unemployment insurance through September, issuing direct payments, providing unemployment protections to gig workers, earmarking funds for underserved communities, and replenishing small business grant and loan programs. 

The coming years are a crucial time in American history that presents an opportunity to rebuild and revitalize the American economy and outdated systems. We are excited to work with the Biden Administration on extending the President's legacy on pro-music issues, resulting in a better future for the American music maker and all Americans.  

And make sure to join us for our "New Congress Webinar" at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 1, to learn more about the Academy's upcoming legislative priorities and how you can best work as an advocate.

Bipartisan Package Brings New COVID Relief And More

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Photo: John Fedele/Getty Images

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Biden Administration Announces Creator-Friendly Changes To The Paycheck Protection Program

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The Biden Administration announced welcomed changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, increasing aid to music creators
Advocacy
Feb 24, 2021 - 11:45 am

The Biden Administration and Small Business Administration (SBA) announced new changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on Monday, which will result in increased access to essential financial relief for the creative workforce.  Formed as part of the CARES Act, the PPP has enjoyed tremendous bipartisan support due to the program’s ability to quickly deliver relief to qualified small businesses, including sole proprietors and independent contractors. The PPP administers favorable loans to eligible borrowers through participating financial institutions, and many of the loans convert to grants if they are primarily used to fund payroll expenses.

While the relief program is appreciated and utilized by the music community, many struggling creatives were originally left with either limited or no access to the available loans administered by the SBA. But starting today, the SBA attempts to correct these inequities and other longstanding programmatic flaws by implementing new guidance.

Many creators will be directly impacted by the SBA’s updated funding formula for sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals. Previously, the PPP loan was calculated by multiplying an applicant’s payroll expense by 2.5, resulting in a much lower loan for sole-proprietors compared with larger businesses. Under the updated guidance, the SBA will calculate the loan amount for these types of workers by using gross income instead of net profits, resulting in larger payments for many members of the music ecosystem. The Recording Academy has consistently advocated for this change since last March, which will help make PPP loans more responsive to the needs of self-employed individuals.

From the program’s inception, many minority-owned businesses and businesses located in underserved communities faced difficulty accessing loans due to a lack of a formal pre-existing relationship with large financial institutions. To correct that program, the SBA has earmarked $1 billion in funds for low- and moderate-income areas. While this is a step in the right direction, the Biden Administration and the SBA must continue to increase outreach and assistance to these underserved communities and minority-owned institutions.

The SBA will also begin a 14-day exclusive application window beginning today, February 24, for businesses with 20 employees or less. Previously, these businesses struggled to secure PPP funds due to the overcrowded lending portal. Understanding that many business in the music ecosystem are extremely small operations, the Academy has long advocated for the SBA to prioritize the delivery of financial relief to the smallest of businesses, many of whom are on the verge of collapse due to the pandemic’s enduring impact.

Other changes in guidance include the elimination of borrowing restrictions for business owners with non-fraud felony convictions, the removal of the disqualifying federal student loan debt delinquency factors, and the expansion of the program to qualify all lawful U.S. residents.

While the 14-day exclusive application window starts today, the remainder of the changes in guidance will take effect during the first week of March. Learn more about the application process on the SBA’s website. 

While many of these promising changes will positively impact the entire music ecosystem, Congress must continue to prioritize music creators in any future COVID-19 relief package. President Biden’s “American Rescue Plan” addresses the many complex challenges facing creators by extending unemployment assistance, appropriating funds to help small businesses survive, and investing in the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). It is time for Congress to stand with music creators by supporting the American Rescue Plan. 

Take Action: Urge Congress To Pass The American Rescue Plan

Ledisi Young

Ledisi

Photo: Ron T. Young Photography

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Profiles In Advocacy: Ledisi On The Importance Of Using Your Voice To Make Change

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The Recording Academy has asked our members to reflect on their path of becoming an advocate for music and discuss the importance of using your voice to create change
Advocacy
Feb 17, 2021 - 12:52 pm

The Recording Academy has asked our members to reflect on their path of becoming an advocate for music and discuss the importance of using your voice to create change. The inaugural "Profile in Advocacy" is from thirteen-time GRAMMY-nominated artist and Los Angeles Chapter Governor, Ledisi.

I have always been uncomfortable using this part of my voice. But I feel it is important for many to hear the human side to the numbers and legal/political jargon most creators like myself get bombarded with when it comes to the word Advocacy. 

There was a time I viewed this organization as a prestigious shiny golden statue and thought that my little voice from New Orleans East/East Oakland could never be heard amongst the many voices inside such an elitist tent. That all changed when I agreed to participate in a GRAMMY U panel for the San Francisco Chapter.

I used my little voice, while my stomach was in knots, and spoke about my experiences as a local artist at the time. I looked around and saw everyone was listening. I sat next to major artists who also spoke about their experiences and we were all under one umbrella inspiring future creators. That day lead me to become a member of the Recording Academy. That was 17 years ago and I saw then that there was more to this organization than only what I watched on television.

Today, as a Governor for the Los Angeles Chapter, I can proudly say I am an Advocate for the Arts, and it started here with the Recording Academy. I have found so much joy in helping my beloved music community. My first GRAMMYs On The Hill I walked alongside my peers lobbying in the halls of Congress using my little voice, that shocks sometimes, and still, people listened. I left there inspired understanding that the heartbeat of the Recording Academy is the artists.  It's creators like me who advocate for artist rights and their legacy, for fair representation, diversity and the passion to preserve the history of all music creators.

It wasn't just a guy in a suit speaking for creators. It was us, creators speaking up for ourselves. The most important work for any creator is not merely to create, but to also be of service beyond one's self, and our collective future depends on that. 

I was asked in a recent interview, "Why do you call yourself an advocate for the Arts? Isn't art already radical?" My reply was that "nothing in music is free."  Everything has a cost, and as long as we continue to have outdated laws that don't reflect the times and it affects creators, we will never be "free." Artists are barely surviving through this pandemic on the very art they have given their lives to.  It's diminishing for some and many have had to find other ways to supplement their income. And after all this what do we have to go back to? This is the time we are forced to live off of streaming and music sales.  But publishing alone isn't enough for most of us. So like many others, I advocate for music creators for this very reason. 

There's still much work to be done and we need more artists to become active to help educate others and to speak out on behalf of our music community. We need them to use their voices and to get involved publicly to help make true change a possibility.  Every creative should be an advocate for music. We have so much power as creators, and when we use our voice, even when it shakes… people will listen. 

Celebrating Mary Wilson: A Strong Advocate For Music Creators

Mary Wilson

Mary Wilson

Photo: Rick Diamond/WireImage

 
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Celebrating Mary Wilson: A Strong Advocate For Music Creators

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On Feb. 8, creators lost a strong advocate in Mary Wilson, who fought to leave the music ecosystem better than when she found it as a young member of The Supremes
Advocacy
Feb 10, 2021 - 3:44 pm

Mary Wilson, a GRAMMY-nominated singer and beloved Recording Academy member, passed away Monday at age 76. As co-founder of the Supremes, Wilson spent her life sharing her gift with the world, while earning twelve number-one singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart along the way.

Beyond being a talented songstress, Wilson’s storied legacy will include her time serving as an advocate on behalf of music creators. In 2009, Wilson inspired a room of 300 music community members inspired to use their platform as part of an Academy town hall. The event also featured now-Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the late former Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), Jimmy Jam, and Josh Groban, among others.

Around a decade later, Wilson and her co-panelist Rep. Issa reunited behind a different call: fixing a loophole to fairly compensate legacy artists. Wilson put her legendary voice to use in support of the Congressman’s bill aimed at correcting this injustice, which was titled the Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society (CLASSICS) Act. Prior to the introduction of the CLASSICS Act, sounds recordings created before 1972 did not enjoy the same copyright protection as more recent material, costing legacy artists like The Supremes millions in royalties.

Wilson argued the importance of educating policymakers on how to better serve the music ecosystem, telling Variety that, “People assume when your music is played on the radio that you are being paid, and it is not true, we are not. So that means people are using your own music, your own recordings, and getting their own revenue.” Due to Wilson’s enduring advocacy, the “pre-1972 loophole” exploited by the digital services was closed as part of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) in 2018.

Wilson chose to spend her limited spare time fighting for a more equitable music ecosystem that prioritized creators over radio magnates. The Recording Academy and our members will continue Wilson’s call to reshape the music ecosystem into a more creator-friendly sector. Congress has the opportunity to directly build on Wilson’s legacy by establishing a public performance right for artist on terrestrial (AM/FM) radio, requiring AM/FM broadcasters to rightfully compensate and obtain permission from all copyright holders. Wilson, like generations of artists before her, was denied compensation for her work on radio. Now Congress has a right to fix this wrong and ensure that all artists can earn a fair living for their work.

The creative community is more fair and just because of Mary Wilson’s years of advocacy, a music icon who will be truly missed by the entire Recording Academy family. 

How The Music Modernization Act Has Already Benefited Legacy Artists

New Congress Webinar

New Congress Webinar

 

Photo: Recording Academy Advocacy

 
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Legislators, Creators Join Recording Academy's Webinar On Music And The New Congress

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On Feb. 1, the Recording Academy hosted a webinar to stress the importance of music advocacy, and demonstrate the viability of creator-friendly legislation in the new legislation session
Advocacy
Feb 4, 2021 - 7:49 am

On January 3rd, the 117th Congress officially started with the swearing-in of lawmakers. While COVID-19 relief package passed at the end of last year was a step in the right direction, the new Congress must continue to pass creator-friendly legislation in the immediate future, including additional financial relief for struggling creators and the HITS Act.

To help music advocates understand the recent power shift in Washington, D.C., the Recording Academy hosted the "New Congress Webinar" on Monday (Feb. 1). This webinar featured current and former members of Congress, along with Academy member advocates, to discuss how the new Congress will impact the creative workforce, and how advocates can help shape the legislative branch's agenda.

The webinar's first panel was moderated by Daryl Friedman, the Academy's Chief Advocacy Officer, and featured Representatives Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Representing many members of the creative workforce, Congresswoman Sánchez championed the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act in the previous Congress, and shared the importance of actively contacting your elected leaders. When discussing the past year's numerous challenges, Congressman McCaul, another champion for music-friendly legislation, spoke to the universally healing nature of music, arguing that, "Music transcends politics…we are looking to the musician and creator to help us get through this."  

Following the first panel, Kelley Purcell, the Academy's Vice President of Membership & Industry Relations, lead a discussion with Academy members on the power of challenging members of Congress to support music-friendly policies. Tracy Hamlin, a Recording Academy National Trustee for the Washington, D.C. Chapter, described the importance of advocacy, "It was very important to me to take advantage of the opportunity to be a voice at the table, share my story with my elected leaders, and to really help to humanize the many issues we face as creators today." Andrew Joslyn, an Academy National Trustee for the Pacific Northwest Chapter, and Alex Ritchie, a member of the Los Angeles Chapter and an artist, producer, and songwriter, also shared their experiences of being an advocate on behalf of the creative workforce. 

The final conversation was held between Diane Blagman, a Washington, D.C. Chapter Governor and two former members of Congress, J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) and Albert Wynn (D-Md.). During the panel, Forbes stressed the importance of sharing "what the pundits don't tell you" about the interworking of the legislative process, while Wynn, a jazz enthusiast, outlined the goals of the Biden Administration and Democratic Majorities in both the House and Senate. 

The intended takeaway from the webinar was to stress the importance of music advocacy, and demonstrate the viability of creator-friendly legislation in the new legislation session. If you have yet to view, the full webinar is available on the Academy's Facebook page. 

Bipartisan Package Brings New COVID Relief And More