Yolanda Adams performs during the 2016 GRAMMYs On The Hill
Photo: Kris Connor/Getty Images

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Yolanda Adams & More GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards Honorees Announced

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The annual Advocacy event will also honor Sen. Chuck Grassley, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries for their roles in MMA's passage as well as Adams and Kristin Chenoweth
Philip Merrill
Advocacy
Mar 27, 2019 - 8:11 am

This year's GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards, to be held on April 9, will honor Yolanda Adams for her advocacy and Kristin Chenoweth for her philanthropy, as well as Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) for their decisive roles in last year's Congress, getting the Music Modernization Act across the finish line and signed into law.

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"GRAMMYs on the Hill clearly has an impact and makes a difference," said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow. "It is no coincidence that just one week after last year's Awards and Advocacy Day, the Music Modernization Act unanimously passed the House of Representatives, paving the way for the bill to later be signed into law. Through the continued dialogue between music creators and Congress, we are ensuring a viable future for music makers."

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Kristin Chenoweth: Carole King's Music Is "Not Just Dessert"

As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in last year's Congress, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) led his chamber's unanimous support for the MMA in its final form as an omnibus package, combining several separately considered bills. Grassley originally introduced the Allocation For Music Producers Act (AMP) in the Senate, which was an important component of the MMA, adding producers and engineers to copyright law for the first time. Upon being elected President pro tempore of the Senate in January 2019, Grassley now presides over the chamber as its most senior member.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) co-introduced a songwriter-focused version of the Music Modernization Act in the House on Dec. 21, 2017. "The House Judiciary Committee has undertaken a thorough review of the issues that adversely affect stakeholders in the copyright ecosystem," said Jeffries at the time, praising the MMA for "increasing efficiency and providing greater transparency." His committee was noteworthy for its scope of hearings into music and copyright, and Jeffries' questions to witnesses helped build the consensus that resulted in generational copyright reform. As the newly elected House Democratic Caucus Chairman, Jeffries’s leadership will advance the rights of all creators in the 116th Congress.

Four-time GRAMMY-winning gospel artist Yolanda Adams will receive the Recording Academy's Creators Leadership Award in thanks for her advocacy on behalf of artists in tandem with her philanthropic giving. Current President of the Recording Academy Texas Chapter, Adams has supported her fellow artists and songwriters through many decades of advocacy work. In addition, her support for MusiCares and other charities including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been selfless, both through performances and by means of financial support.

In thanks for her generous giving both personally and financially, Kristin Chenoweth will be honored with the GRAMMYs on the Hill Philanthropist Award. Recognized with Tony and Emmy awards as a Broadway performer and television actress, she also appears in films including as the animated Gabi in Rio 2. Growing up outside Tulsa in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, her leadership in the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center has made it the focus of a revitalized arts district. She also conducts a Broadway Boot Camp to help youngsters understand how to audition and pursue careers in theater. A long-time supporter of MusiCares, Chenoweth performed at the 2011 MusiCares Person Of The Year tribute to Barbra Streisand.

The awards dinner and show will take place at the Hamilton Live in Washington, D.C., with live performances from both Adams and Chenoweth as well as additional special guests. 

The following morning, on April 10, GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day is a special occasion for the music community to engage with lawmakers and staff fully. Considered Capitol Hill's largest policy event for music, both lawmakers and music advocates are able to share perspectives looking ahead to the future, and continue their work to ensure fair compensation for artists, songwriters and producers on unresolved issues.

Recording Academy Advocacy Hits SXSW

 

(L-R) The Recording Academy's Wayne Zahner and Neil Portnow, Kristin Chenoweth, Rep. David N. Cicilline, Linda Perry, Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Diane Blagman
Photo: Shannon Finney/WireImage

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GRAMMYs On The Hill 2019: Music And Politics Unite At Washington’s Largest Advocacy Event For Music

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The annual Advocacy outing put music creators such as Linda Perry and Kristin Chenoweth in the room with lawmakers to discuss issues and policy critical to the livelihood of music creators
Nate Hertweck
Advocacy
Apr 12, 2019 - 12:56 pm

"Had a great day in D.C. supporting @GRAMMYAdvocacy during #GRAMMYsOnThe Hill. The fight for fairness continues to ensure that those who make music are heard" –eight-time GRAMMY-winning engineer/mixer Manny Marroquin, Conversations In Advocacy #52

Each year, the music community rallies on Capitol Hill for the Recording Academy's GRAMMYs On the Hill to connect with Congress and express the importance of creators’ rights. This year's Advocacy Day on April 10 brought out a litany of artists, producers, songwriters, and industry members to meet with lawmakers and discuss policy that affects their livelihood every day. 

The turnout from creators was impressive, from GRAMMY winning artists such as Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger of Halestorm, to GRAMMY nominees Mario and Linda Perry, to Broadway superstars Brandon Victor Dixon and Kristin Chenoweth, to name just a few. On the evening before Advocacy Day, the GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards honored Chenoweth with the Philanthropist Award, as well as Yolanda Adams with the Creators Leadership Award and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) for their decisive roles in last year's Congress getting the Music Modernization Act across the finish line and signed into law.

As music emanated up the steps up the Capitol Building and into its hallways, elevators and offices, the festive spirit of creativity and talent reminded our lawmakers of the crucial role music plays in our culture, setting the perfect backdrop for a discussion on the issues closest to music creators. For the music community, Advocacy Day makes all the difference.

"GRAMMYs on the Hill clearly has an impact and makes a difference," said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow. "It is no coincidence that just one week after last year's Awards and Advocacy Day, the Music Modernization Act unanimously passed the House of Representatives, paving the way for the bill to later be signed into law. Through the continued dialogue between music creators and Congress, we are ensuring a viable future for music makers."

GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day is considered Capitol Hill's largest policy event for music, and shows the Recording Academy does so much more for the music world throughout the year beyond honoring excellence at the annual GRAMMY Awards. To learn more about the Academy's ongoing Advocacy efforts, get informed on the latest issues and policy affecting music creators and learn how you can take action to join the movement.

Inside The 2019 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards Celebration

Neil Portnow, Yolanda Adams & P.J. Morton

Photo: Paul Morigi/WireImage

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Inside The 2019 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards Celebration

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Music and politics came together on the eve of Capitol Hill's largest policy event for music to celebrate champions of music creators' rights from both worlds
Marcus K. Dowling
Advocacy
Apr 10, 2019 - 6:30 pm

Hot on the heels of the successful passage of the Music Modernization Act in October 2018, the 2019 GRAMMYs on the Hill gala event celebrated an industry now looking to provide quality educational opportunities for young artists, as well as the artists of the past and present highlighting their stellar advocates in the halls of Congress. Ultimately, the underscored the truly good, decent and humane benefits that can blossom when music and politics unite to ensure a sustainable future for all music creators.

Apr 10, 2019 – 2:08 pm

Go Inside The 2019 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards

Washington, D.C.’s The Hamilton hosted the event, which honored singer/songwriter/actress Kristin Chenoweth and gospel icon Yolanda Adams. As well, two congressional honorees—Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Okla), the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), the Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus—were feted. Though Senator Grassley was unable to attend, he was more than ably replaced by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), the Speaker of the House, who noted the “tireless advocacy work of artists like Adams and Chenoweth for the aid of America’s music professionals,” was, “greatly appreciated by their many friends on Capitol Hill.”

Chenoweth, a stalwart musical icon whose talents span musical theater, film, and television, was honored with the GRAMMYs on the Hill Philanthropist Award. Regarding her Kristin Chenoweth Art and Education Fund, the diminutive in stature yet mightily voiced performer noted that she would rather show than discuss the impact of her Art and Education Fund. Pairing with Cassandra Haight, a student from Washington, D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Performing Arts, she performed “For Good,” her duet from the soundtrack of legendary Broadway musical Wicked.

Insofar as being the man responsible for being the first (and only) person to quote Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy” on the floor of the House of Representatives (during a 2017 discussion on Affordable Care Act), Hakeem Jeffries is already a groundbreaker. Regarding the passage of the MMA, he noted a promising message of bipartisanship and unity as it related to how Congress regarded the industry. “We came together as Republicans and Democrats, the left and the right because music is such a universal language. [Music] captures the soundtrack of our life including love, loss, and a life well lived. People put aside their partisan differences to do what’s right for artists, songwriters, and creatives.”

Adams, was gracious in being honored with the Recording Academy's Creators Leadership Award, and the GRAMMY-winning gospel icon also delivered a memorable performance. The President of the Recording Academy Texas Chapter, her strong advocacy work for preserving the health and financial sustainability of her fellow artists and songwriters via Academy charity MusiCares, was highlighted.

As always, this year’s “only at the GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards” moment did not fail to entertain. GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Linda Perry played a stirring acoustic guitar rendition of a song she penned, Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful, which won the GRAMMY for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2004. Perry then launched into a feel-good rendition of her own—via her former group 4 Non Blondes—1991 hit “What’s Up” alongside a stage filled with performance luminaries including Gavin Degraw, and 20 members of Congress as a backing choir and band.

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else,” outgoing CEO of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow paraphrased Mister Rogers, at the open of his remarks. Capping his 17 years in the position with the passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) is unquestionably a highlight.

"The passage of the MMA is a monumental success, not only for music creators but for music people everywhere," said Portnow. "Progress begins with unity. From creators to elected leaders, our Recording Academy staff, and our partner organizations throughout the industry, have demonstrated altruistic harmony.”

He also noted that, “At the heart of Recording Academy members is a desire to give back. The Academy has deepened its commitment to its charities. Tonight’s beneficiary, The GRAMMY Museum, is our shared music cultural home.”

As the event bringing together the worlds of music and politics came to a close, everyone looked toward the following morning for GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day, where both lawmakers and music advocates are able to share perspectives looking ahead to the future of music policy. And as all of those on stage and in the audience experienced on this lively night in the Nation's Capitol, music has the power to bring us together.

CRB Appeal: Inside The Battle For Fair Streaming Rates

Photo: Recording Academy

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Recording Academy Advocacy Hits SXSW

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The future looked bright in Texas at this year's conference and festival as our music community demonstrated it is coming together like never before
Philip Merrill
Advocacy
Mar 22, 2019 - 3:23 pm

"SXSW was the place to be again this year, and Advocacy issues generated excitement as well as packed audiences at the festival's conference and the Recording Academy’s Texas Chapter Block Party"—Conversations In Advocacy #49

The SXSW Conference & Music Festival were held March 11–17, 2019 in Austin, Texas, and the Recording Academy and its Advocacy team were there to amplify issues that matter to the community of music creators. Highlights included a block party put on by the Academy’s Texas Chapter and a panel on music copyright and the MMA, which included the Academy’s Senior Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, Todd Dupler as a speaker.

On March 14, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) joined the Texas Chapter Block Party, speaking to the crowd about his support for the Music Modernization Act, what he called the most significant music copyright bill in 40 years. Doggett also reaffirmed his support for establishing a performance right on AM/FM radio, as he noted he was the first Texan to cosponsor the Fair Play Fair Pay Act during the 115th Congress. Academy members and their guests were enthusiastic to hear Doggett championing the importance of correcting this age-old injustice to deny musicians’ compensation for their work.

On March 15, the Academy’s Todd Dupler joined a panel for the conference's "Copyright at the Crossroads: The Present and Prognostications." Billed as "a hard-hitting, copyright-focused panel on the impact of current legal and technological developments affecting the present and future music industry," a full house followed closely as the panelists discussed such weighty issues as the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Fourth Estate decision — a critical set-back for timely enforcement of creative rights. Artificial intelligence and holograms were also front-and-center, not just as burgeoning areas, but also because both have already taken firm hold in the music industry. Other topics included digital first sale doctrine, copyright terminations and the implementation of the MMA's comprehensive copyright reform — a progress we must ensure continues successfully. As Dupler observed, we are trying to "modernize an 8-track copyright law for a digital streaming music world."

After reflecting on the week at SXSW and the many conversations he had with songwriters and artists, Dupler penned an advocacy blog post regarding the ongoing controversy over streaming services and royalty rates.

2018 was a year of unprecedented accomplishment and the music community is poised to build on last year's momentum in 2019. Texas' SXSW helped show what we have going for us as we move ahead to next month's GRAMMYs on the Hill.

Momentum For Music Creators Continues With Recording Arts & Sciences Congressional Caucus

"Conversations in Advocacy" is your weekend digital tip sheet on music advocacy and the policies that affect music makers and their craft. New installments post every Friday.

 

(L-R) Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Neil Portnow and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
Photo by Paul Morigi/WireImage

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Neil Portnow's Legacy Of Advocacy: Retrospective Of A Creators' Rights Champion

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From his vision to make Advocacy a Recording Academy pillar to his tireless work toward enacting the Music Modernization Act, Portnow's contributions will continue to improve the livelihoods of music creators for generations to come
Nate Hertweck
Advocacy
Jul 24, 2019 - 10:33 am

Neil Portnow's tenure as Recording Academy President and CEO will come to a coda on July 31 with his retirement, but his devoted Advocacy work on behalf of music creators will resonate and reverberate throughout the music community. Since taking over the prestigious role in November 2002 he has made it his mission to raise the voice of the Academy on behalf of music makers to create meaningful policy changes that build a better system for songwriters, musicians, artists, producers and engineers. Now, nearly 17 years later, we look back and celebrate his remarkable career wins as wins for the whole of the music industry.

Portnow's long list of accomplishments, milestones, programs launched, and legislation passed shows what is possible through hard work, collaboration, and passion for the betterment of the music community. His leadership proved to all that with dedication, anything is possible. Just last November, Portnow stood at President Donald Trump's right elbow as the Music Modernization Act was signed into law. The MMA represents the biggest update to music legislation in 40 years, and Portnow was there to shepherd the bill from inception to fruition. President Trump even made mention of the Recording Academy’s leader as he put the finishing touch on the monumental moment. That's how integral Neil Portnow has been to music policy.

But Portnow's lasting impression on the modern music industry began long before his watershed legislative triumph. In fact, his very first remarks as Recording Academy President laid out the organization's core pillars, setting advocacy as a true Academy priority for the first time ever. Before Neil, Advocacy was a project of the Washington D.C. Chapter, but Portnow saw the value, responsibility and urgency of creating a distinct Advocacy department with a dedicated public policy team.

In 2005, while still in the springtide of his tenure, Portnow helped launch the Recording Arts and Sciences Congressional Caucus and expanded the popular GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards ceremony to include a high-level lobby day to better educate lawmakers on music makers’ issues and to connect music makers and lawmakers

He also laid out the vision for the first-of-its-kind grassroots music advocacy day, now known as District Advocate Day, to take place simultaneously with thousands of music creators nationwide connecting with members of Congress to discuss what matters to the music community. Last year's District Advocate Day saw more than 1,500 music creators raise their voice and meet with their representatives.

Portnow's vision for creating comprehensive change to an outdated music licensing laws began to take focus when he saw discrete bills for songwriters or producers or artists fail to be passed. On Apr. 2, 2014 during the GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards, he delivered a momentous speech to a record-turnout packed house calling for unity within the music industry to achieve parity for all creators across all platforms. The galvanizing speech was featured in an advance story in The New York Times, and in an editorial in Hill publication Roll Call. Two months later on June 10, he testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet on the issue of music licensing, where he was the only one of seven witnesses to represent all music creators.

On Jan. 8, 2018, Portow led the Academy in joining a broad coalition of 20 music organizations to support key music legislation pending in Congress, fulfilling a Recording Academy vision for legislative unity. With the coalition in place, artists, songwriters, labels, publishers, and performing rights organizations united to endorse music licensing bills including the elements that formed the foundation of the Music Modernization Act. This action marks a significant step forward towards creating a fair and updated marketplace for music creators.

Neil Portnow speaks at GRAMMYs On The Hill Advocacy Day, April 26, 2012
Photo: Paul Morigi/WireImage

When the milestone 60th GRAMMY Awards came around later that January, Music's Biggest Night and the many GRAMMY Week festivities traveled to New York City, Portnow's hometown, for the first time since 2003. That same week in the Big Apple, the House Judiciary Committee held a special GRAMMY field hearing with Portnow and other Recording Academy witnesses and Trustees titled "Music Policy Issues: A Perspective From Those Who Make It." The hearing sets the stage for significant progress towards updating current music legislation.

Drafting off the GRAMMY Week momentum in New York, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R- Va.) and Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) went back to D.C. and started stitching together the comprehensive bill after the hearing. One week before April's GRAMMYs on the Hill, Goodlatte and Nadler introduced the Music Modernization Act (H.R. 5447).

Where the worlds of music and politics overlap, Portnow made it his business and the Academy's business to coalesce, to understand and to unite.

During GRAMMYs On The Hill, Portnow was part of the catalyst to bring the newly introduced MMA to the floor for votes, ultimately pushing the landmark legislation over the finish line just a few short months later.

Fittingly, Portnow would be not only attend the White House ceremony when the the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act was signed into law by President Trump on Oct. 11, 2018. but also receive special thanks form the president. This storybook ending came only after years of hard work to realize the bill that brings music licensing into the 21st century with one comprehensive piece of legislation, a position championed by Portnow and advocated by the Recording Academy since 2014.

While the Music Modernization Act stands as Portnow's crowning accomplishment in advocacy, the product of a career of hard work, but it was far from the only legislative accomplishment under his tenure. Portnow fought persistently to preserve and increase NEA funding and music education reminding budget-setters why arts funding is so important for both fostering a healthy entertainment industry and enriching the minds and spirits of the next generation with the joy and knowledge of music.

As a voice for the music community, Portnow spent his career at the Recording Academy fighting to improve the system that governs the music industry, uniting music and politics with diplomacy, efficacy and class. As the Recording Academy bids Neil a very fine and grateful farewell, it also celebrates the many ways his Advocacy efforts will continue to support music creators long after his retirement.

Neil Portnow Looks Ahead At 2019 GRAMMY Awards