Through advocacy, education and dialogue, the Recording Academy protects the rights of music makers and addresses critical issues within the music community.
Get to know the Advocacy & Public Policy team in Washington, D.C., and learn more about our issues and policies below.
PERFORMANCE RIGHT FOR SOUND RECORDINGS
Traditional AM/FM radio does not compensate performers for the sound recordings they use to fuel their billion-dollar business. The corporate radio loophole makes broadcast radio the only industry in America that’s built on using the intellectual property of others without permission or compensation. The Ask Musicians for Music (AM-FM) Act, introduced by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in the Senate and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) in the House, is a bipartisan and bicameral bill that gives creators control of their own property by requiring broadcasters to obtain permission before broadcasting a copyright-protected sound recording.
Read more about the AM-FM Act here.
ALLOCATION FOR MUSIC PRODUCERS ACT (AMP)
A long-standing advocacy goal of the Recording Academy’s Producers and Engineers Wing, the Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act was signed into law after years of advocacy work by Academy members.
The law gives studio professionals recognition in federal copyright law for the first time in U.S. history.
Read more about the AMP Act here.
FAIRNESS FOR SONGWRITERS
For decades, outdated laws—dating back to 1909—prevented songwriters from earning fair market value for their work. Today, the Music Modernization Act (MMA) establishes a new mechanical licensing collective, paid for by the digital services and administered by songwriters and publishers, that will result in more timely payments of mechanical royalties to songwriters for their works used by streaming services.
Read more about the benefits of the Music Modernization Act for songwriters here.
INSTRUMENT TRAVEL
In 2015, the Recording Academy and its members helped secure important regulations to help musicians travel with instruments. These rules apply to air travel using any domestic carrier.
Read more about these regulations here.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS CONTAINING IVORY
In February 2014, the Obama Administration took action to combat the African elephant poaching crisis by crafting regulations to impose a near-total ban on the commercial trade of African elephant ivory. The music community has championed conservation and artists have been outspoken in the effort to save these beautiful animals. At the same time, the Academy sought to ensure that the Administration’s rules would not have any unintended consequences for musicians who possess older instruments, such as violin bows or guitars, that happen to contain small amounts of ivory but have no impact on the illicit ivory trade.
Read more about how these conservation efforts affect the impor/export of musical instruments that contain ivory here.
ADVOCACY DOCUMENTS
Click here to view an archive of important Recording Academy documents ranging from reply comments and official statements to congressional testimonies.