RECORDING ACADEMY WELCOMES NEW ADMINISTRATION

The Recording Academy celebrated the inauguration of President Joe Biden with a look at his support for music creators over the years. Here’s what the Academy shared with members.

The Recording Academy looks forward to working collaboratively with the new 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.

Vice President Kamala 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 for 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 accomplishments. 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.

Join us for our New Congress Webinar at 1pm PT/4pm ET on 2/1 to learn more about the Academy's upcoming legislative priorities and how you can best work as an advocate.