A2IM Supports Bipartisan BEATS Act, Making it Easier For Canadian Entertainers to Perform In US
New York, NY: U.S. Representatives Dave Trott (MI-11), Chris Collins (NY-27), Peter Welch (VT-AL), today introduced bipartisan legislation that will streamline the ability of Canadian entertainment artists to perform in the United States and bring their talents to American consumers.
The legislation, known as the Bringing Entertainment Artists to the States (BEATS) Act, will modernize the P-2 visa process for entertainment artists and speed up the admission process for applicants who want to perform in the United States. This reform will make it easier for Canadian artists to bring their talents to American consumers while not compromising U.S. security or border protection procedures in any way.
"We commend Representatives Trott, Collins, and Welch for their bipartisan leadership and recognition of both the economic and cultural benefits this legislation will provide Americans and local businesses. It's an issue of special importance to independent record labels, many of which are small businesses that depend on a predictable and reasonable visa approval timeline. The BEATS Act is a bipartisan, common sense proposal that will create jobs in the American music industry," said Richard Burgess, CEO of the American Association of Independent Music.
Canadian artists, who are in particular demand the United States, have difficulty obtaining the required visa (P-2) from U.S. authorities. U.S. immigration law makes it difficult for this small pool of visa candidates to avoid long wait times and expensive processing fees, often resulting in cancelled shows at local music venues and lost revenue for local communities and businesses associated with musical performances.
The changes mirror regulations already in place for Canadians regarding other visa categories and track similar streamlining that the Canadian government recently put into place for American artists visiting Canada.
The BEATS Act is supported by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), The Recording Academy, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), and their member labels.
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 over 382 Independently-owned American music label small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The organization represents Independents' interests in the marketplace, in the media, on Capitol Hill, and as part of the global music community, as well as, supports a key segment of America's creative class and the small business community that represents America's cultural and musical genre diversity. Billboard Magazine, using Nielsen SoundScan data, identified the Independent music label sector as 35.1 percent of the music industry's U.S. recorded music sales market in 2014 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