In 1998 The Recording Academy established an office in the nation’s capital, seeking to amplify the voice of music creators in national policy matters. Today, called the “supersized musicians lobby” by Congressional Quarterly, The Academy’s Advocacy & Industry Relations office in Washington, D.C., is the leading representative of the collective world of recording professionals — artists, songwriters, producers, and engineers — through its GRAMMYs on the Hill Initiatives.

As a founding member of the musicFIRST Coalition, The Academy has taken a leadership role in the fight to expand radio performance royalties to all music creators. (Currently, the law gives traditional radio an exemption from paying featured artists, background singers, session musicians, and producers for use of their work.) Recording Academy members have testified before Congress, come to Washington to advocate and written thousands of letters to legislators.

To create significant grassroots support for music issues, each year Recording Academy members are invited to Washington, D.C., to participate in the GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards and Advocacy Day. The awards ceremony honors leading music and political figures who have shown a commitment to creators’ rights, while the lobbying day consists of hundreds of music makers meeting with legislators to advance pro-music legislation. The 2011 GRAMMYs on the Hill events marked the awards’ 10th anniversary and the largest-ever presence in Washington, D.C., with approximately

Advocacy & IndustryRelations: Advancing The Rights Of Music Creators

Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) (left) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) (right) during a recording session at Sirius XM Radio’s studios in Washington, D.C., in April 2011

Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow (left) and 25-time GRAMMY winner Stevie Wonder (right) present Vice President Joe Biden with the GRAMMYs on the Hill Award in the West Wing of the White House on April 13, 2011

(l-r) Recording artists Dave Koz and Bruce Hornsby, The Recording Academy’s Neil Portnow, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), ASCAP President and Chairman of the Board Paul Williams, GRAMMY winner Don Henley, The Recording Academy’s Daryl Friedman, and GRAMMY-winning artist Michael W. Smith at the 2011 GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards

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For more information about Advocacy & Industry Relations at The Recording Academy, visit www.grammy.org/advocacy. For Advocacy updates, follow @TRAinDC on Twitter.

400 people attending. The milestone celebration honored Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bob Corker (R.-Tenn.) and GRAMMY-winning musician Don Henley, who received the inaugural Recording Artists’ Coalition Award. Past recipients of the award have included Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and John McCain (R-Ariz.); Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Howard Coble (R-N.C.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.); and GRAMMY-winning musicians, including Garth Brooks, Natalie Cole, Kelly Clarkson, Gloria Estefan, Quincy Jones, and Martina McBride.

Through advocacy, education and dialogue, The Recording Academy protects the rights of music makers and advances their interests on important policy matters.

Programs include:

Advocacy• GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day

gives music professionals the opportunity to meet with national leaders in Washington. The GRAMMYs on the Hill Awards, held the preceding evening, honors legislators and music creators

• Partnership with the Recording Arts and Sciences Congressional Caucus, which provides The Academy and caucus members with discussions, demonstrations and other events allowing opportunities for creators and legislators to learn from each other and jointly address the needs of the music community

Education• Capitol Tracks, a regular publication

for members of Congress, cultural stakeholders and Academy members

• The GRAMMY Town Hall, providing high-level panels that serve as an open forum for music professionals to address, hear from and question national political leaders

Dialogue• The GRAMMY Industry Roundtable• Music Leaders Retreat, co-hosted by Recording

Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow, giving the leaders of every major music association an opportunity to jointly address community issues in a productive working session

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