meta-scriptThe call for fair pay for musicians is getting louder | GRAMMY.com
The call for fair pay for musicians is getting louder

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The call for fair pay for musicians is getting louder

Music creators are coming together under The Recording Academy banner to fight to change music licensing laws and protect the livelihood of future generations of musicians

Advocacy/May 15, 2017 - 01:36 pm

"It's time for change."

That was the main theme in an essential op-ed titled "Music Matters In Washington," written by Daryl P. Friedman, Chief Industry, Government & Member Relations Officer of The Recording Academy, for top political website The Hill. 

Friedman recounts why music creators should be given fair market pay "across all platforms," including terrestrial radio. Citing classic rockers Cheap Trick as an example, Friedman detailed how the group has been a format staple for 40 years but has received no earnings for radio play.

He also outlined how The Recording Academy is dedicated to sounding the "alarm" for music creator activism through vehicles such as the annual GRAMMYs on the Hill in Washington, D.C., and via grassroots programs such as GRAMMYs in My District. These programs not only galvanize music creators, they shine a light on critical issues impacting music, a valuable commodity that drives our culture and boosts our economy.

Read more about what is at stake for future generations of musicians and how The Academy's movement of music creator activism has multiplied from 100 advocates to more than 2,000 in just three years.

More advocacy at The Academy: Go inside the 2017 GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards

From Small Stages To The GRAMMY Stage: How Four Venue Professionals Became Presenters At The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show

The Apollo Theater

Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

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From Small Stages To The GRAMMY Stage: How Four Venue Professionals Became Presenters At The 2021 GRAMMY Awards Show

Operators and staff at the Station Inn, the Troubadour, the Apollo Theater and Hotel Café appeared during the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show to petition viewers for help—and promise an epic party for them if they do

GRAMMYs/Mar 24, 2021 - 07:43 pm

The Recording Academy reimagined everything about the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show on a more intimate scale, and the choice of presenters was no different. When it came time to announce the Best Country Album winner, the person who appeared on screen wasn't a slick Nashville superstar, but a soft-spoken, older man who's unrecognizable to a global audience but beloved in the Music City. His name was J.T. Gray, and he grinned ear-to-ear on national TV.

In a segment recorded a month prior, Gray showed the camera crew around the Station Inn, the 145-person-capacity bluegrass venue he'd owned since 1981. Despite the room receiving almost no income for a year due to the live music industry shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gray was rosy about the future. "Getting to reopen the Station Inn, that's going to be a celebration like never before," he promised. "It's going to be a big party." He then announced the winner, Miranda Lambert, to the world. Gray was naturally quiet and reserved, a closed book. Not after that shoot, though.

"He was just beside himself the whole time," Jeff Brown, the Station Inn's marketing director, tells GRAMMY.com. "He just never believed it was happening. He just didn't believe that his little venue was being recognized on that kind of scale, that those many people in a place with the GRAMMYs and the Recording Academy's recognition actually paid attention. He just couldn't believe it." On Sunday, March 14, Gray astonishedly watched himself on CBS. The following Saturday, he passed away after a struggle with compounding health problems.

Gray might not get to attend the "big party" when things open up. But 9 million people heard his message.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Troubadour offers our deepest condolences to JT Grey’s family, friends, and those at <a href="https://twitter.com/stationinn1974?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@stationinn1974</a>. JT created a special home for bluegrass, country music, and more in Nashville, TN. He leaves behind a beautiful legacy and will be missed by many.<a href="https://t.co/rGwZGuDoXK">https://t.co/rGwZGuDoXK</a></p>&mdash; Troubadour (@theTroubadour) <a href="https://twitter.com/theTroubadour/status/1374515380622794753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

For a year, venues worldwide have been hanging on by a thread: struggling to pay their rent, waiting in vain for federal aid, and given no clear finish line as to when they can reopen. That's why, with the Recording Academy's blessing, Executive Producer Ben Winston asked Gray, as well as representatives from the Troubadour and Hotel Café in Los Angeles and the Apollo Theater in New York City, to present at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards and talk about their economic struggles during the pandemic. Together, they sounded a shared refrain to the world: We matter to our communities, and we need help.

The venues that spoke their piece during the 63rd GRAMMY Awards were members of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). An assemblage of independent venue owners and promoters from around the country, NIVA formed directly in response to the 2020 lockdown. "We figured we'd better find a way to come together and lobby for federal assistance," Audrey Schaefer, a board member and the Communications Director for NIVA, tells GRAMMY.com. "Because otherwise, we're all going under."

The Steel Wheels at Station Inn in 2015. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music via Getty Images

Last year, NIVA, along with the Recording Academy and other music organizations, lobbied Congress via the Save Our Stages Act and succeeded. On Dec. 27, the decree became the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and passed along with the COVID relief package. "In that grant fund is $16 billion," Schaefer says. "For an organization that didn't exist before … nobody gave us any hopes of being able to secure that kind of funding. But we did. We got the law passed."

However, venues have not yet seen that money. "We understand that the applications will start at the beginning of April," she adds with relief in her voice.

In the meantime, Scheafer mulled over how best to convey to the world the existential crises venues face. "I was thinking that the GRAMMYs couldn't possibly be at the Beverly Hilton like it normally is—in a big ballroom—because we can't be together," she says. "I thought, 'What if the GRAMMYs were to have the award show, and instead of having all the performances under one roof, they were to have them in independent venues?'"

To try and give this idea legs, Schaefer reached out to Daryl Friedman, Chief Advocacy Officer of the Recording Academy's Advocacy division. "He said, 'Listen, Audrey, I think that's a great idea, but they have a million great ideas. So, let me take it to them and we'll see what happens,'" she recalls. Schaefer persistently followed up. "I kept asking Daryl, 'What do you think? What are you hearing?'"

But unbeknown to her, the Recording Academy and the production team were already independently planning to highlight independent venues and their employees as an advocacy initiative and add a personal moment to the broadcast. "And then I found out that, oh my gosh, they do want to do it," she adds with awe.

Billie Eilish at the Troubadour in 2019. Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Granted, the Recording Academy didn't agree to host performances at independent venues. But Schaefer calls the idea they decided to go with "so much better." Instead, venue professionals would take viewers on a tour of their workplaces, illustrating their value to their communities and why they desperately need help. Participants included the Station Inn's Gray; Rachelle Erratchu, the night manager at the Troubadour; Billy Mitchell, the tour guide and overall house cat at the Apollo Theater in Harlem; and Candice Fox, a bartender at the Hotel Café in Hollywood.

For Erratchu, the problem extends further than keeping the lights on at the Troubadour; the entire live music ecosystem is in trouble. "We need everybody else to survive so that we can survive," she tells GRAMMY.com. "If we don't exist and all the other venues across the country don't exist, the tour circuit as we know it and have relied on it for decades won't exist anymore."

For Billy Mitchell, the Historical Tour Manager and overall global representative of the Apollo Theater who has earned the title of "Mr. Apollo," his job isn't a means to an end; he lives and breathes it. Mitchell's time at the Apollo began in 1965 when he ran errands for James Brown and his band. During the telecast, Mitchell relates a funny story of how the Godfather of Soul sent him all the way home to the Bronx to get his report card, threatening to put his job on ice if he didn't get better grades.

COVID forced the Apollo to temporarily furlough some its staff. To be forced to stop, it was heartbreaking, to be honest with you," Mitchell tells GRAMMY.com. "I give tours to people from all over the world, and they're unable to visit because of COVID restrictions and things like that." While the not-for-profit has offered digital programming in the meantime, most of it has been free as not to burden fans. Thankfully, at press time, all staff members have returned full-time.

Billy Mitchell at the Apollo Theater in 2009. Photo: Jemal Countess/WireImage via Getty Images​

The Apollo has been lucky, in a sense; corporate and private donations have kept it afloat. Still, they're not out of the woods yet. "Donations are needed so that when we do reopen, we can pump out those great shows and bring back our staff," Mitchell says. "We want to bring back our staff as soon as possible." 

In the clip played during the 2021 GRAMMY Awards show, Mitchell addressed viewers from the empty audience. "We miss our audience and we can't wait until our doors open up again," he says. "We just can't wait."

Candice Fox, a bartender at Hollywood's Hotel Café, believes there will be an outpouring of activity at her workplace once it's safe again. "I like to believe people are going to want to make up for lost time," she tells GRAMMY.com. "I know that people are itching to perform. People are so excited to experience that exchange of energy again. So, I think it's going to explode."

In line with Erratchu's thoughts on the overall music ecosystem, Fox notes that Katy Perry cut her teeth at the 65-capacity room on Cahuenga Boulevard. "She wasn't the big pop star she is now; she was just a girl with a guitar," she says. "So many artists' careers and the GRAMMYs couldn't exist without small, independent venues like the Hotel Café because you've got to start somewhere." In her clip, Fox ruminates on the regulars she's missed for a year, pouring a Boddingtons and mixing an Old Fashioned to an array of empty stools.

Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds at Hotel Café in 2015. Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images​   

At the end of every venue vignette, each venue representative announced the winner of their assigned categories: Best Country Album for Gray (Miranda Lambert's Wildcard), Best Pop Solo Performance for Erratchu (Harry Styles' "Watermelon Sugar"), Best Rap Song for Billy Mitchell (Beyoncé's and Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage Remix") and Album Of The Year for Fox (Taylor Swift's folklore). All four were thrilled to appear and encourage viewers to support their workplaces—whether by donating directly, paying for a livestream or purchasing a T-shirt. 

That way, the lights at the Station Inn, the Troubadour, the Apollo and Hotel Café can flare up again, ensuring these cultural hubs don't become figments of the past. And if you want to know how memorable the inevitable "COVID is over" parties will be, just look at Gray's blazing smile during the GRAMMYs.

"I can probably count a very [small] number of times that I've seen him truly smile," the Station Inn's Brown reflects. "But truly smiling—that's what he was doing here."

Click here to support the Station Inn.

Click here to support the Troubadour.

Click here to support the Apollo Theater.

Click here to support Hotel Café.

Click here to support NIVA.

Capturing Los Angeles' COVID-Closed Venues

Seratones' AJ Haynes On Working With Brad Shultz, Reproductive Rights & Advocacy In Music

AJ Haynes

Photo: Dylan Glasgow Guice

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Seratones' AJ Haynes On Working With Brad Shultz, Reproductive Rights & Advocacy In Music

The Seratones frontwoman talks to the Recording Academy about her advocacy work around women's reproductive rights

GRAMMYs/Feb 28, 2020 - 12:35 am

AJ Haynes' quest to empower women offstage began in college after she finished playing a gig. The Seratones frontwoman was hanging out after performing at a women’s clinic with her former cover band when she found herself curious about what the healthcare providers did there. Once she had an overall picture of everything the clinic provided for women, she felt enthralled.

"I started working [there] within the week, and I've worked there off and on for about 10 years," she said in a recent interview with the Recording Academy.

Not that the powerhouse vocalist has stopped performing: her soul-rock band released their sophomore album, Power, just last August. The group's latest is produced by Cage the Elephant’s Brad Shultz, whom Haynes calls "a bolt of electricity." 

"Working with him was truly a dream," she says. "There’s a certain honesty and an immediacy he really knows how to channel into song."

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But you’ll still find Haynes at Hope Medical Center, in her hometown of Shreveport, La., whenever she’s home from tour.

Haynes has been advocating for women's rights to seek abortions in Louisiana alongside the clinic as the state prepares for a court case that can possibly mean its closure. Obtaining an abortion in the state is legal thanks to Roe vs. Wade, but new legislation may make it even harder to get, as there are only three abortion clinics in Louisiana. Doctors performing abortions must obtain admitting privileges that are often difficult to get from nearby hospitals. A court case to be held on March 4 by the Supreme Court will "hear the clinic's challenge to [the] tough Louisiana law placing new restrictions on doctors who perform abortions. If the law goes into effect, the clinic may have to close down," reports Reuters.

For the singer, her identity as a musician and her identity as an advocate for reproductive rights have become intertwined. Prior to the March 4 court case, and on a pit stop from the Seratones' ongoing tour, Haynes spoke to the Recording Academy about the work she’s been doing to help women learn about their reproductive rights. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How did you begin your advocacy work for reproductive rights?
 
I've been working at an abortion clinic as a counselor for 10 years off and on. Reproductive justice has just been a part of my life. I actually got this job because I had a cover band at the time and we got hired to play the Christmas party at the clinic. Afterward, I was hanging out with the owner, the late Robin Rothrock and I was in school at the college across the street. I was like, "Well what do you do there?" because I knew that they provided health services, but I didn't know what all they covered, and she said, "Well, we provide abortion care," and I asked if they needed any help and they had a position as a counselor. I started working like within the week and I've worked there off and on for about 10 years in between working as a teacher, and whenever I'm home, I go in and work as a counselor.
 
I think of less of what I do now is activism and more of like advocacy. It's just coming from an informed place of being a counselor of having had all this experience working with people one-on-one. To me it's easy. It's like almost second nature because it's such a natural part of my life. I've always been an advocate for reproductive health and for abortion. It's just now that I have a platform and I think the duty of being an artist is that you have the privilege to have this security and safety to say what you want. When I was a teacher, I couldn't do this kind of advocacy work. I'd lose my job. That's the reality that a lot of people are managing is like they have this experience or they have the passion for something that has a major impact on everyone's lives because abortion isn't just about women, right? Abortion is about our communities and how our communities are impacted. Not everyone has the kind of safety to be able to advocate, unfortunately, because we live in such a deeply stigmatized society or because abortion is such a deeply stigmatized thing, when in fact it's our constitutional right. It's scary. I think like the more we can do to open the dialogue around it and to educate people about not only abortion but all of our healthcare process.
 
What are some of the issues women are going through in regards to reproductive rights in Louisiana?
 
Well. Some of the legislation restricting access to abortion care is created by people that are not doctors, that don't even know how basic reproductive processes work. They don't even know how miscarriages work. They barely know how periods work and yet they're passing all this legislation that harms our communities. We know Roe vs. Wade is the law of the land, but why there is no access? You can have a right, but if you don't have access to the things you need, it's almost null and void. And because of all of these restrictions and all of these barriers to access, people suffer.
 
You are supporting Hope Medical Center in an upcoming court case that involves requiring admitting privileges to abortion providers at hospitals. You don't think that's a good idea, right? Tell us why.
 
Well, first of all, this is a constitutional precedent that's already been set. What's at stake is not only people's healthcare and our community's welfare, but also the integrity of the constitution. Back in 2016 with the Whole Woman's Health vs. Hellerstedt case, an exact same restriction was trying to be passed by the state of Texas. Well, that case was struck down. We won that case. This is the exact same, in almost verbatim, the exact same law made with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. So when you look at it like this, we're all kind of scratching our heads like we've been here before. There is a constitutional precedent. 2016, which was not that long ago. So why are we dealing with this again? Why is the state of Louisiana using and wasting taxpayers' money for something that's already been decided?
 
It's really kind of mind-blowing when you think of it like that. These admitting privileges don't make abortion safe. It doesn't need to be made safe. It's a safe process. These are doctors that are performing a much-needed health service. The admitting privileges don't make this process any safer. In fact, it makes it harder for doctors to be able to do their job ...  It's a terrible idea.
 
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Some people think of abortion in a very specific way.
 
It doesn't matter why someone needs an abortion; it's their constitutional right. And I think that the more we can get away from referring to it as anything other than health, healthcare, anything other than something that's necessary for whatever the situation, right? The stigma is hurting our communities. We never know what someone's reasons are. Or sometimes it is a deeply individual and private, intimate decision and that should be respected. People shouldn't be made to explain why they need access to something that is a constitutional right. Period. There is no ifs, ands or buts. It is their f*****g reason. They need to be supported. They need to be loved, they need to be provided the healthcare that they need. That is the constitutional right.
 
And so for me, this is about our autonomy. How do we celebrate our lives? Being able to make the decision if, how and when you want to make a family. If, how and when. That's what reproductive justice is about. For me, the [Seratones] song "Power" came together as a way to just encourage people to persist and to continue. I know it is really hard when you don't know what's coming next, but you have the power to fight and to endure and to persist. And that needs to be recognized.
 
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The court case is major because it's the first since the President appointed two Supreme Court justices. What do you hope happens?
 
I hope that the justices just follow the constitutional precedent, the law of the land that's already been set. This is essentially the same thing that we've already dealt with in 2016 and I hope that from this we also have and develop a greater awareness of how important it is for people to have access to abortion. Not only do I hope that we win the court case, but I hope that from this moment people are really rattled and awakened to see how close we are to losing things that are a constitutional right. I think people don't realize that this applies to everyone. This is not just about abortion care. This is about the integrity of the Constitution. The integrity of the Supreme Court. This is bigger than just us. And I say "us" as in independent abortion health care providers.
 
Has your advocacy work affected the way you create or see your music work at all?
 
Absolutely. I mean, my advocacy work and my creative work aren't separate. We're affected by our day to day lives and that's my day to day life; existing as a black woman celebrating this body, celebrating my autonomy, celebrating my freedom, celebrating my power and the power of everyone else within my community. So how would I not be affected by someone trying to systematically and recklessly endanger my life? Because whenever we restrict access to health data, that's what happens. People's lives are in danger. Abortion is healthcare. We can't treat it as if it's anything separate from our processes. For example, miscarriage, birth, all of these human and deeply personal intimate processes where people's space and autonomy need to be respected.
 
When you have time off, you're at the clinic and when you're not at the clinic, you're touring. Is it fair to say that when you're on tour, you're also doing advocacy work?
 
Yeah, absolutely. The way it should be, I think you just have to make it all work because this is something that's in court it's something that's worthwhile. As an advocate, I'm not getting on a stage and screaming about abortion because that's not a way to engage people in a way that they can learn. They need to understand my story and they need to understand my humanity, right? We need to teach this elastic empathy and through that opens space and hold a space where we can learn. There's so much misinformation about women's healthcare. Period ... So to address the question of how do I juggle? There's no juggling involved. Our lives aren't as dissectable. If you're a mother, you're a creator. If you're a father, you're a creator. If you're childless, you're creating. And I think that the beauty of being an artist is that I get to allow myself the space to be affected out in the open and to do it in a way that I feel is necessary.
 
I do want to touch on your tour. How are you liking it?
 
I don't like the cold, but aside from that, there's been so much warmth and just gratitude and beauty at every one of our shows on days when I'm feeling really worn down because touring is hard. Touring is physically, mentally, psychologically, all of the above, exhausting. But our fans are just incredible. And we have such a diverse group of fans. I have everyone from like, 70-something-year-old German dudes to 14-year-old brown girls. Incredibly diverse. And I think that's a really beautiful thing that these people have. These people coming from such different, well we think of as different, backgrounds. They love what we do because we're speaking the truth. I don't know how to lie and I don't know how not to talk about my experiences. And I think that as an artist you should talk about your experiences with craft. And in a way that does compel people to engage and to have to listen and have to be uncomfortable too. That's how you learn, that's how you grow. And we as artists can demand more of people. I think good artists do. Artists that I admire do.
 
You mentioned that touring is hard. What do you do for self-care?
 
I do yoga when I can. Even If I just have my mat with me, I feel better. I try to drink a lot of water and [listen to] audiobooks. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and [have] quiet time. I don't really party a lot either. I know that's breaking the rock and roll stereotype, but I feel like I get so much from performing, that's no party. What more can a girl need?
 
You all released an album last year. You're on tour now. Do you think you'll take a break before creating something else?
 
No, girl, I'm ready to write some more. I love the creative process. I actually did some writing before we left for tour. I think you glean from your travels. It's like a discovery process. You tuck something away. Like I'll use that later and you come back to it. But no, you should always be in the mode of creating 'cause it's so fun.

TORRES On Writing Queer Country Songs, The Power Of The Spoken Word And Her New Album, ‘Silver Tongue’

Recording Academy Helps Bring New Tax Incentives For Music Scoring To Tennessee

Dark Horse Recording

Photo: Courtesy of Dark Horse Recording

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Recording Academy Helps Bring New Tax Incentives For Music Scoring To Tennessee

In conjunction with the Tennessee Entertainment Commission, Academy members helped shape state rebate program to attract soundtrack projects

GRAMMYs/Nov 20, 2018 - 10:29 pm

New incentives to bring music scoring business to Tennessee were announced on Nov. 20 by the Tennessee Entertainment Commission and the Recording Academy, offering some enticing reasons to soundtrack your next film in the Volunteer State. For projects above a professional cost threshold, qualified expenses can receive rebates of 25 percent.

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"As the home to so many talented working music creators, this new incentive further emphasizes Tennessee's dedication to music and the composers who create some of our favorite soundtracks," said Daryl Friedman, the Academy's chief industry, government & member relations officer.

As detailed at the TEC website, this new grant refund program applies to projects that spend more than $50,000 in primary markets or more than $25,000 in the state's many secondary markets, using qualified TN vendors. Leaders from the Recording Academy's Memphis Chapter and Nashville Chapter worked with the Commission to ensure that these parameters would serve their professional purpose.

"It only makes sense for us to leverage Tennessee's unparalleled concentration of music talent and production services to attract additional music scoring projects," said Bob Raines, TEC's executive director. "As Tennessee attracts more scoring projects through TEC's new program, it will allow our creative class and content creators to showcase their superb quality to audiences across the globe."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are thrilled to welcome <a href="https://twitter.com/netflix?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Netflix</a>&#39;s &quot;Uncorked,&quot; the feature film directorial debut from <a href="https://twitter.com/The_A_Prentice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_A_Prentice</a>, to Tennessee. <a href="https://t.co/jtliKCgv4b">https://t.co/jtliKCgv4b</a> <a href="https://t.co/9qiC0THylA">pic.twitter.com/9qiC0THylA</a></p>&mdash; TN Entertainment (@tnentertains) <a href="https://twitter.com/tnentertains/status/1063084313737134080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Tennessee has the highest concentration of music professionals in the U.S. and the second highest concentration of sound engineers. Nearly 1,100 businesses in Tenn. employ more than 6,725 recording industry workers.

"Scoring has been a growth sector of Tennessee's music industry in recent years," said Raines. "It is our goal to make Tennessee the No. 1 destination for these types of media projects." As digital media expands and diversifies, soundtrack work has expanded beyond movies and TV shows to video games and new forms of digital media.

While this is the first music-focused incentive of its kind for the state, TEC and the Recording Academy are in partnership advocating for new worthy programs.

"We have state-of-the-art studios, producers, engineers, composers, arrangers, and players," said John McBride, the owner of Nashville's Blackbird Studio. "This city has world-class production capability and we need to show the world." His statement applies to first-class facilities, expertise and talent across the state as well.

With more scoring business attracted by these new incentives, the next few years should bring plenty of new recording projects for Tennessee to boast about. How's that for running up the score?

'Score': Soundtracks take us on an emotional ride

Sirius XM Continues to Fight Against Paying Artists Fairly

Mitch Glazier

Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

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Sirius XM Continues to Fight Against Paying Artists Fairly

RIAA President Mitch Glazier explains how Sirius XM's opposition to the Music Modernization Act is unfounded and unfair to artists

GRAMMYs/Sep 13, 2018 - 04:20 am

In a recent statement, Mitch Glazier, the President of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), explained why Sirius XM's opposition to the Music Modernization Act, or MMA, is unfair to artists, with their arguments in their defense flimsy at best.

As the Recording Academy has highlighted, Sirius XM is fighting against the pre-1972 provision of the MMA which calls for digital and satellite providers to pay market rate royalties for playing any pre-1972 recordings. This important piece of legislation would allow legacy artists (and their estates) to finally be paid fairly for use of their music. Satellite radio providers such as Sirius XM have profited of the loophole which allows them to play legacy artists' music without paying them a penny. Because of this, Sirius XM is fighting to make last minute changes to the MMA in an attempt to kill the otherwise widely-supported bill.

In an article published on Billboard's business page, Glazier outlines how Sirius XM's claims are simply unfounded. They said that they've already paid for all of the legacy (pre-1972) songs they use across their stations, when in fact they have not. After years of paying nothing to legacy artists to use their music, artists and labels sued them in state court, garnering wins in California. Sirius settled these claims and used those limited (albeit forced) payments as the argument that they are now paid up on all pre-1972 song plays, which is, of course, false.

"The real issue is that Sirius XM wants to avoid paying legacy artists any more money while it keeps its special deal that allows it to pay for post-'72 music at below-market rates," Glazier explains. "The Music Modernization Act finally corrects both these injustices and makes Sirius XM play by the same rules as every other digital service."


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Contact Your Senators: Tell Them To Support Comprehensive Music Reform