Us Music Manufacture Asks Trump For A Fair Bargain (But Less Fair Use!)

Nineteen US music manufacture organisations convey come upwards together deliver an opened upwards alphabetic character to President-elect Donald Trump (pictured left), pointing out that the likes of YouTube, Google as well as Facebook convey thrived on 'free' music as well as what they term the "value grab", as well as that "sophisticated applied scientific discipline corporations tin practice better" at fighting piracy, as well as and shouldn't survive able to cover behind legislation such every bit rubber harbor - which has arguably allowed the applied scientific discipline as well as telecoms giants to grow as well as grow at the expense of the music industry.

Amongst those signing are the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the American Society of Composers, Authors as well as Publishers (ASCAP), the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) as well as the Songwriters Guild of America, who convey asked Mr Trump to run alongside them on behalf of "American music – 1 of our nation's most valuable forms of fine art as well as intellectual property, as well as a powerful driver of high-quality U.S. jobs as well as exports" as well as grouping inquire Trump to exceed laws that would strengthen as well as enforce intellectual belongings laws inwards the industry's struggle against "infringers" field seeking fair compensation from "search engines, user upload content platforms, hosting companies, as well as domain refer registrars as well as registries" noting that "Strong protection for intellectual belongings rights volition assure increase inwards both inventiveness as well as technology, benefiting the American economic scheme every bit a whole."



The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President-Elect of the United States
Office of the Presidential Transition
1800 F Street, NW

Washington, DC


Dear Mr. President-Elect:

Congratulations on your election to serve every bit the 45th President of the United States. We hold off frontwards to working alongside y'all as well as your Administration on behalf of American music – 1 of our nation’s most valuable forms of fine art as well as intellectual property, as well as a powerful driver of high-quality U.S. jobs as well as exports.

We stand upwards for the music community of America. From songwriters, musicians as well as recording artists, to creative mortal managers, music publishers as well as tape companies. From producers as well as engineers, to performing rights organizations as well as genre organizations that promote everything from Americana as well as blues to classical, Christian, gospel as well as province to hip-hop, jazz, pop, rock, R&B, as well as everything inwards between.

So much of what y'all wrote inwards your platform this summertime most intellectual belongings as well as individual belongings rights resonated alongside many of us, including:

“Intellectual belongings is a driving forcefulness inwards today’s global economic scheme of constant innovation. It is the wellspring of American economical increase as well as project creation. With the ascent of the digital economy, it has larn fifty-fifty to a greater extent than critical that nosotros protect intellectual belongings rights as well as save liberty of contract rather than practice regulatory barriers to creativity, growth, as well as innovation.”

And calling for potent activity to enforce intellectual belongings laws against infringers.

As y'all run across tomorrow alongside around of the world’s major corporate applied scientific discipline executives, nosotros wanted to highlight around points that are assuring the continued dynamism of music every bit 1 of America’s national treasures.

Music powers economical growth. Among other research, only this calendar week a novel study reported that music as well as other copyright industries inwards the U.S. contribute to a greater extent than than $1.2 trillion to our national economic scheme as well as practice jobs for to a greater extent than than 5.5 1000000 Americans. Music is 1 of our nation’s smashing exports.

Music drives innovation. Consumers today taste to a greater extent than music inwards to a greater extent than formats than ever, every bit the music manufacture has aggressively embraced technology. The manufacture has worked alongside to a greater extent than than 360 digital services providing 2d access to tens of millions of songs from whatever location inwards our province at the affect of a button.

Indeed, many of today’s pop applied scientific discipline platforms owe much of their increase as well as success to music. Music is responsible for the most-followed accounts on Facebook as well as Twitter, the most-watched videos on YouTube, as well as is 1 of the most pop draws for phones as well as other personal devices. These platforms thrive as well as grow past times delivering the creative genius of songwriters as well as artists.

As partners, many inwards the applied scientific discipline as well as corporate community should survive commended for doing their purpose to assist value creators as well as their content. Some convey developed systems to promote a salubrious marketplace position for music as well as deter theft. However, much to a greater extent than needs to survive done. Search engines, user upload content platforms, hosting companies, as well as domain refer registrars as well as registries should follow others’ lawsuit to effectively halt theft as well as assure fair payment.

Further, at that topographic point is a massive “value grab” every bit around of these corporations weaken intellectual belongings rights for America’s creators past times exploiting legal loopholes never intended for them – perversely abusing U.S. police to underpay music creators, thence harming 1 of America’s economical as well as project engines.

Surely the world’s most sophisticated applied scientific discipline corporations tin practice amend – past times helping to preclude illegal access as well as paying fair marketplace position value for music alongside prices laid upwards past times or based on the costless market.
Strong protection for intellectual belongings rights volition assure increase inwards both inventiveness as well as technology, benefiting the American economic scheme every bit a whole.

We promise y'all volition atomic number 82 the endeavour to assure American inventiveness is encouraged, invested in, protected as well as fairly compensated inwards a fashion that carries out the exclusive rights guaranteed inwards the Constitution to those who, alongside the genius of their mind, shape the cultural identity of our smashing nation.

Sincerely,

American Association of Independent Music (A2IM)
American Federation of Musicians
American Society of Composers, Authors as well as Publishers (ASCAP)
Americana Music Association
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)
Church Music Publishers’ Association (CMPA)
Christian Music Trade Association (CMTA)
Gospel Music Association
The Living Legends Foundation, Inc.
Music Managers Forum - U.S.
Nashville Songwriters’ Association International (NSAI)
National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA)
The Recording Academy
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
Rhythm & Blues Foundation
Screen Actors’ Guild-American Federation of Television as well as Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)
SESAC
The Songwriters Guild of America
SoundExchange

http://arstechnica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Letter-to-POTUSE-from-Music-Community-121316.pdf

Image by Gage Skidmore