RepResenting Music cReatoRs Office of Advocacy & Public Policy 529 14th Street NW, Suite 840 Washington, D.C. 20045 grammy.com/advocacy Recent AdvocAcy vIctoRIeS AdvocAcy & PublIc PolIcy the reCOrDiNg ACADemy CONtiNueS tO PrOteCt AND ADvANCe DubbeD the “SuPerSizeD muSiCiANS lObby” by CONGRESSIONAL the rightS Of PrOfeSSiONAl CreAtOrS. With uNWAveriNg SuPPOrt QUARTERLY, the reCOrDiNg ACADemy iS the ONly memberShiP frOm memberS AND legiSlAtOrS WOrKiNg tOgether ACrOSS the OrgANizAtiON rePreSeNtiNg PerfOrmerS, SONgWriterS, COuNtry, the fOllOWiNg WAS AChieveD: PrODuCerS, eNgiNeerS, AND All muSiC PrOfeSSiONAlS. • congress passed and the president signed into law the ADVOCACY academy-backed Bots act. this law protects artists, music the advocacy & public policy team partners with academy members from across fans, and the concert experience by cracking down on online the country to present a powerful lobbying force that fights for music creators’ ticket scalpers. rights year-round. on District advocate day, the largest nationwide grassroots lobbying campaign for music, academy members visit the offices of their local • More than 2,000 academy members participated congressional members. Recording academy leaders also serve as expert in gRaMMYs in My District in october 2016, a new milestone witnesses before key congressional hearings determining music policy. gRaMMYs for the largest music advocacy day in history. on the Hill brings members to the nation’s capital each spring to advocate for creators’ rights, while thousands of members across the country join the • the academy launched the gRaMMY Fund for Music creators, efforts online. a political action committee that empowers members to advance their interests on important policy matters. EDUCATION education efforts include the Recording arts and sciences congressional caucus, • academy president/ceo neil portnow spoke to millions where the Recording academy produces events with members of congress on of music fans during the gRaMMY awards telecast to capitol Hill to educate policymakers about the issues facing music makers. it’s address fair compensation for music creators. easy for members to stay informed and engaged, even from the convenience of their own home with the advocacy tool, which allows members to advocate two federal agencies, u.s. Fish & Wildlife service and • directly for pro-music policies with government officials. gRaMMY.com/advocacy u.s. Department of agriculture, announced a new provides regular blogs, op-eds from academy members featured in publications partnership that makes it easier for musicians to travel around the country, and news bulletins to give academy members real-time internationally with musical instruments that contain rare updates on policy matters. plant and animal material. DIALOGUE the obama administration protected older musical • the Recording academy wants members to develop and exchange meaningful instruments in its final regulations to ban ivory. ideas that will ensure a better future for all music creators. events to enhance • By the end of the 114th congress, more than 70 different these efforts include the advocacy town Hall, a series of congressional briefings members of congress had signed on to co-sponsor pro-music to educate our members on key policy matters, and the Music Leaders Retreat, legislation such as the Fair play Fair pay act, the aMp act, a semiannual gathering co-founded and co-hosted by Recording academy president/ceo neil portnow for leaders of every major music association to and the songwriter equity act. discuss common legislative goals and important community issues. For more information about advocacy & public policy at the Recording academy, visit GRAMMY.com/Advocacy and follow us on Facebook (gRaMMYadvocacy) and twitter (@gRaMMYadvocacy). Paul Morigi/ WireImage.com Morigi/ Paul “Everyone knows that the [Recording] Academy bestows the GRAMMY Awards every year for artists’ achievement, but more people need to know that this organization works hard on behalf of its members to create a level economic playing field—one that promotes innovations and ensures financial viability for all music creators.” —GRAMMY winner Zac Brown (center) of the Zac Brown Band | 1 Greater than the Sum Of ItS PartS Neil PortNow A member of the Recording Academy is part of a community. More than 20,000 President/CEO strong, the community of individual music creators and professionals has achieved — Recording Academy together— what was once unthinkable. consider: • two thousand individual members fanning out across the country on a single day to meet with legislators in hundreds of district offices, marking the largest grassroots movement for music in history. • A historic launch to our political action committee (GRAMMy Fund for Music creators), the first of its kind in music soley to serve the individual musician, songwriter and studio professional. the GRAMMy Fund, whose launch was covered in The New York Times, has already received contributions from 100 percent of Academy national elected leadership and has supported those legislators who value the contribution of music to American society. • Social media and online support of our Washington activities reached new heights, with more than 150 million impressions backing the #supportmusic and #GRAMMysontheHill campaigns, reaching influencers and congressional offices. And the examples go on and on. What do all these successes have in common? Large numbers were achieved as a result of that all-important small number: one. As a member of the Academy, your single voice is critical to the success of all we do. But never has Advocacy been more successful due to the combined efforts of each one of our members, whose voices are amplified through community. As of this writing, our members have already secured important victories, including House passage of a bill to elevate the stature of the copyright office and provide important oversight to the appointment of its director. And an increase in funding for the national Endowment for the Arts, even after the White House recommended eliminating the agency. i am proud to stand alongside you, as a fellow member of the Recording Academy, as we join forces to improve the lives of music makers and music fans. i hope you will join me in taking pride in the accomplishments reflected in these pages. they belong to all of us. Kind regards, neil Portnow 2 | AdvocAcy in Action | 2017 tOuchdOwn fOr muSIc makerS Daryl P. FrieDmaN there’s a famous commercial that we all know. A winning quarterback is asked, Chief Industry, “you’ve just won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do now?” And how does the Government & Member victor respond? With his desire to go to a theme park. Relations Officer contrast that to the highest honor in music. two months after the GRAMMy Awards, still reveling in their recognition, a large group of accomplished winners and nominees used their success to fight for the next generation of music creators. they didn’t go to disney World. they went to Washington. Walking the halls of congress in April were the owners of a combined 40 GRAMMys, many of them newly minted this year. they came to d.c. not for themselves, but to ensure a future for professional music makers who will follow them. our GRAMMys on the Hill Advocacy day was attended by a renowned group of creators from all corners of the country, from all genres of music, and from all levels of commercial success. But you don’t need GRAMMy gold to advance Advocacy. And you don’t even need to travel far. As a member of the Recording Academy, you can take action in many ways. Here are just a few: • Meet with your legislator when they’re home. By signing up for district Advocate day each fall, the Academy will organize a group for you and set up a meeting with your U.S. Representatives during the congressional recess. you can make your case and send them back to Washington armed with information about the important role music plays in their district. • Send an action alert to your legislator. Using the Academy’s action tool, www.grammy.com/action, you can let your representatives know about the issues important to music makers. • Support those who support music. Academy members can learn more about the GRAMMy Fund for Music creators (political action committee) at www.grammy.com/fund. Members tell me once they’ve participated in advocacy they get “the bug.” it’s an empowering and exciting experience to engage directly with policymakers and be part of improving lives in your community. So if you haven’t taken part in advocacy yet, i encourage you to join us. you’ll get the bug too — and i bet you’ll find it even more exciting than a ride at disney World. Sincerely, daryl P. Friedman | 3 advOcacy In actIOn | 2017 Greater than the Sum of its Parts AdvocAcy & PUBLic PoLicy Advancing the rights of music creators through 2 neil Portnow, President/cEo advocacy, education and dialogue. touchdown for music makers 529 14th Street nW, Suite 840, Washington, d.c. 20045 3 daryl P. Friedman, chief industry, Government & Phone: 202.662.1285 | Email: [email protected] GRAMMy.com/Advocacy Member Relations officer FoLLoW US on Grammys in my District Facebook.com/GRAMMyAdvocacy twitter.com/GRAMMyAdvocacy 5 third grassroots advocacy day grows substantially in numbers cHiEF indUStRy, GovERnMEnt & MEMBER RELAtionS oFFicER recording academy launches First Political action Committee Daryl P. Friedman 9 the GRAMMy Fund for Music creators is created to SEnioR diREctoR, AdvocAcy & PUBLic PoLicy advance music policy todd Dupler diREctoR, GovERnMEnt AFFAiRS a year of advocates in action michael lewan 10 todd dupler, Senior director, Advocacy & Public Policy ExEcUtivE ASSiStAnt lindsey taylor advocacy weekend at the 59th Grammy awards 14 Members of congress go behind the scenes to get briefed AdMiniStRAtivE ASSiStAnt, AdvocAcy & PUBLic PoLicy alexandra williams on music policy LEGiSLAtivE conSULtAnt Grammys on the Hill awards Diane Blagman 18 Hundreds gather to honor music creators and music education AdvocAcy coMMittEE Grammys on the Hill advocacy Day Sue ennis co-cHAiR 23 Recording Academy members urge congress to support music rodney Jerkins co-cHAiR Booker t.