Lately there has been a lot of advocacy coming from various parts of the music business, songwriters, artists and tech worlds. So what’s going on with the new music business laws we’ve been hearing about?
There is so much happening right now in terms of legislative review, copyright reform and international participation that it’s difficult to keep up with what’s going on.
Thankfully, I attended a Grammy Advocacy event [10/14/15], and as part of their preparation toolkit, I now have a better idea of what’s currently happening and ideas for how to participate, not only with topics related to songwriters, but also to other music related happenings.
Proposed Laws and Actions:
There are currently several pieces of legislation and reform review items on the table that are of interest to the music industry:
· Fair Play Fair Pay Act
· Allocation for Music Producers Act (AMP Act)
· Songwriter Equity Act
Also, there have recently been rulings on ASCAP and BMI consent decree rate setting. [Read about Pandora – ASCAP rates here. Read about Pandora – BMI rates here]
What Does It Mean?
If you’re like me, I have in the past kept silent about issues related to licensing and copyright because I was afraid I didn’t understand everything perfectly.
On a quest to discover the truth, I have learned a lot, and have found ways to explain the music business in Plain English. I’ll attempt to do that now for these issues and topics, as well as recount comments I’ve heard other people make at various events I’ve attended as your Songpreneur community representative.
Fair Play Fair Pay Act
The Fair Play Fair Pay Act is intended to help singers/artists and people who own sound recordings get paid when their music is played on the radio.
Believe it or not, when you listen to the AM/FM radio, the music you’re hearing and the radio station is paying for doesn’t actually go to pay the performer.
Digital Radio like Pandora and SiriusXM do pay the performance royalty through Sound Exchange, but the AM/FM stations are currently exempt from this royalty due to special considerations that were previously enacted.
So even though you’re hearing both the song and the recording of the song when you listen to the radio, only one of those copyright owners is paid.
The songwriter and music publisher get paid under the current laws through their performing rights societies (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC in the United States), but the singers and record labels don’t earn any royalty from those public performances.
There is a lot of confusion among radio DJs about this issue, because they know their stations pay “performance royalty” to three people, but all those three sources go to the songwriters/publishers and none of it goes to the artists and record companies.
Also part of the Act, currently digital music services aren’t paying artists for recordings made before 1972 claiming that there is a loophole in the federal law. State courts have overturned this practice, and the Fair Play Fair Pay Act seeks to eliminate the practice of non-payment once and for all.
The Fair Play Fair Pay Act will help bring the United States in line with the rest of the world music industry by allowing the money that is collected for performers overseas to be claimed by its rightful owners here in the ‘States. Other countries collect this royalty on behalf of their performers, but since the United States does not pay performers, the other countries (all signatory to the international treaty known as the Rome Convention) hold onto the money that would be due US artists and rights owners.
Also, since Digital Radio such as Pandora and SiriusXM already pay artist performance royalties on their platforms, creating an AM/FM royalty could be easily collected through those same channels.
This will work hand in hand with another of the Acts, the AMP Act. Let’s look at it now.
Allocation for Music Producers Act (AMP Act)
This Act is actually part of the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, but since I hadn’t heard of it before, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about it separately.
As explained by Engineer Chuck Ainlay at yesterday’s Grammys In My District Nashville gathering, the AMP Act will for the first time allow music producers to collect their digital music service royalties, instead of having to go through the artist to get paid. So far, nobody opposes this Act, which is kind of nice considering all the opposition many of the others face.
Songwriters Equity Act
This Act is seen as an important first step in making songwriter related copyright reform, and for removing government regulations affecting a songwriter’s ability to control and monetize his or her intellectual property.
Currently, the Department of Justice is conducting ongoing hearings and meetings to get a more in depth and compete understanding of what needs to be done.
You can read the current version of the Songwriter Equity Act here and you can review a partial transcript of the recent Nashville House Judiciary Roundtable Hearings here.
Taking Action
As a songwriter, many times when I read the comments under advocacy articles such as one by Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, I feel angry or frustrated because of the opinions voiced by people who don’t understand what intellectual property and creative livelihood is all about.
But being frustrated is no reason to be quiet.
For the past year, our Songpreneur School group has been discussing these concepts and the background information needed to better understand how things are and how they got that way.
We are currently finishing up our independent study period, and developing the curriculum for next year’s course that will include advocacy measures that can be taken locally, as well as materials that can be distributed among all age groups.
We are also booking an interactive tour for 2016, which will include stops at area schools with our K-12 World Music Project. Having already seen thousands of students in the past, we’re looking forward to continuing and expanding this program in the coming years. Interested parties can email for more info here, or sign up for the email newsletter to get updates.
In the meantime, study well and get together with your local songwriter and artist groups. Have discussions and take notes about what’s going on with each other in your local communities. What challenges are you facing? What measures are being taken to fix the current problems? What do you need in terms of support from the industry or the government?
Conclusion
One of the key statements made by Alandis Brassel of Rep. Jim Cooper’s office yesterday was, “Some of the biggest lobbyists are the Congressmen’s kids.”
Instead of only trying to only educate our lawmakers, we need to continue to educate everyone related to this issue. When consumers know and appreciate the value of music, it’s a lot easier to get them to pay for it in a sustainable way.
And while it might seem that systematic education is the long way to the solution, it is by far the most lasting, and it is not unachievable as many of us are led to believe.
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Systematic reform is coming. Be a part of the conversation for solutions.
By Amanda C. Williams – October 15, 2015 – Published by Hillbilly Culture LLC
http://songwritingandmusicbusiness.com/articles/Education_Advocacy_Grammy_District_Songpreneur/
[Amanda C. Williams is a singer/songwriter/performer who has had many successes in the business of songwriting. She is also very much an educator to the highest degree of the term. You would be wise to sign up for her newsletters to keep up on deep-down areas of the Business of Music.]