Yesterday I had the immense honor to testify before The House Judiciary Committee. The hearing, "Copyright and the Internet in 2020: Reactions to the Copyright Office’s Report on the Efficacy of 17 U.S.C. § 512After Two Decades", was a vital step forward for artists and copyright holders.
It was also a once in a lifetime opportunity to bear witness and share my perspective as a creative. It was a large but important responsibility to represent, and, hopefully find solutions to shore up and protect the rights of myself, my peers and the next generation of artistic voices.
To be very frank, we are at a bleak crossroads as creatives. In a music industry transformed overnight by peer to peer sharing, and in the shadow of a post Covid-19 world, the basic question we are asking is, how do we make a living doing what we love? How do we afford to press on, especially post Covid-19?
I’m grateful to the chief counsel for trusting me to speak on behalf of my peers and am including a link to my full testimony HERE.