Experts from both the arts and education sides of music, as well as the business back-end, share the importance of updating copyright law from their varying perspectives.
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New York Town Hall Addresses Creator's Rights 2016
"Creator's Rights & The Future Of Music" was the topic at this 2016 GRAMMY Town Hall hosted by the New York Chapter. Moderated by bass player and jazz bandleader/composer Ben Allison, he set the scene describing challenges old and new that make it hard for the next generation of musicians to find a livelihood in the business. Deputy Director of the musicFIRST Coalition Sam Sokol addressed the incentives for intellectual property in the Constitution, and entertainment attorney Judy Tint explained how the historical development of copyright law has left audio recording artists neglected. "We all need to raise our voices," Tint said, "because this is a wrong that really needs to be righted." CEO Downtown Music Publishing Justin Kalifowitz observed that overregulation is such a serious problem that even the rate court judges, under consent decrees, are not allowed to consider free market rates with record labels when setting royalty rates for songwriters. Trevor Gale considers education the most important thing, along with encouraging friends to get more educated about these vitally relevant issues. Having been successful as an artist and subsequently as Senior Vice President Of Writer Publisher Relations for SESAC, he believes it's urgent that artists realize once they are done creating, their music is a business. In addition to the fight for fair compensation, which the Recording Academy's advocacy programs have richly supported for decades, every participant in the business of music can make it their personal business to be well informed about the issues that control their livelihood.