A2IM Joins Musical Community to Call for DMCA Reform

New York, NY: A2IM has joined nineteen other major music industry organizations and over 400 songwriters, artists and managers to call upon the U.S Copyright Office to reform the misused "safe harbor" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") and its broken "notice and takedown" system.

Read the full petition on A2IM's site.

"The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was a boon to artists and labels alike when it was enacted in 1998," said Richard James Burgess, CEO A2IM. "Unfortunately the systematic abuse of law makes it necessary for it to be rebalanced to lift the insurmountably one-sided burden that currently falls on music creators and copyright owners. We will not have a healthy creative community as long as organizations and individuals are allowed to profit from the use of unlicensed music. The seriousness of this problem is emphasized by the unprecedentedly unified response from all sides of the creative and copyright communities."

Designed for a dial up, pre-streaming and social media world, the DMCA's original purpose was to promote a healthier balance in the online music market, to allow nascent digital services to thrive while protecting creators rights, but the legislation has since become obsolete and shields companies who act in bad faith and draw profit on the backs of creators. "Safe harbors" have been wrongly expanded to protect businesses that use unlicensed music to draw in visitors and profit off them.

The music community is united in calling for a re-examination of the DMCA and restoring the originally intended balance between digital services and creators, including polices for the modern Internet ecosystem on issues such as repeat infringer policies, "red flag knowledge" of infringement and appropriate "Standard Technical Measures" to address Infringement.

The united Music Community filing was submitted by: American Association of Independent Music (A2IM); American Federation of Musicians; American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; Americana Music Association; Broadcast Music, Inc.; Christian Music Trade Association; Church Music Publishers Association; Global Music Rights; Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.; Music Managers Forum - United States; Music Publishers Association; Nashville Songwriters Association, International; National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; National Music Publishers' Association; Recording Industry Association of America; Rhythm and Blues Foundation; Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists; The Society of European Authors and Composers.; SESAC Holdings, Inc.; and SoundExchange.

About A2IM

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, A2IM is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in New York City representing a broad coalition of 391 Independently-owned American music labels. The organization represents these independently owned small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) interests in the marketplace, in the media, on Capitol Hill, and as part of the global music community. In doing so it supports a key segment of America's creative class that represents America's diverse musical cultural heritage. Billboard Magazine, using Nielsen SoundScan data, identified the Independent music label sector as 34.4 percent of the music industry's U.S. recorded music sales market in 2015 based on copyright ownership, making Independent labels collectively the largest music industry segment.

The organization's board of directors are composed of the following: Razor & Tie President Craig Balsam, Concord Music Group President Glen Barros, INgrooves General Manager Amy Dietz, Epitaph/Anti- General Manager Dave Hansen, Beggars Group Chairman Martin Mills, Hopeless Records Owner Louis Posen, Dualtone Music Group CEO/Co-Founder Scott Robinson, Kill Rock Stars Owner/President Portia Sabin, Adshare President Jim Selby, Tommy Boy Owner/CEO Thomas Silverman, and Secretly Group Co-Founder/Co-Owner Darius Van Arman. A2IM's president's advisory committee is Curb Records Vice President Taylor Childress, Red House Records Vice President Chris Frymire, and Innovative Leisure Co-Owner Nate Nelson.

http://www.a2im.org