Some of the most influential figures in the music industry are urging President-elect Donald Trump to radically shake-up laws concerning intellectual property rights.
In the open letter, Donald Trump is being urged to protect “American music – one of our nation's most valuable forms of art and intellectual property, and a powerful driver of high-quality U.S. jobs and exports”.
It was signed by almost 20 music organisations, including the Songwriters Guild of America, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
They are urging Trump to pass new laws that would strengthen intellectual property against so-called “infringers” and want financial compensation paid out by “search engines, user upload content platforms, hosting companies, and domain name registrars and registries” that offer access to music.
They argue that “the world’s most sophisticated technology corporations can do better” to prevent music theft, adding that everybody should pay "fair market value for music with prices set by or based on the free market”.
The letter points out that strong action by Trump would give “protection for intellectual property rights” and will help to “assure growth in both creativity and technology, benefiting the American economy as a whole”.
Here’s the music industry’s open letter to Trump in full:
“Dear Mr. President-Elect:
“Congratulations on your election to serve as the 45th President of the United States. We look forward to working with you and your Administration on behalf of American music – one of our nation’s most valuable forms of art and intellectual property, and a powerful driver of high-quality U.S. jobs and exports.
“We represent the music community of America. From songwriters, musicians and recording artists, to artist managers, music publishers and record companies. From producers and engineers, to performing rights organizations and genre organizations that promote everything from Americana and blues to classical, Christian, gospel and country to hip-hop, jazz, pop, rock, R&B, and everything in between.
“So much of what you wrote in your platform this summer about intellectual property and private property rights resonated with many of us, including:
“’Intellectual property is a driving force in today’s global economy of constant innovation. It is the wellspring of American economic growth and job creation. With the rise of the digital economy, it has become even more critical that we protect intellectual property rights and preserve freedom of contract rather than create regulatory barriers to creativity, growth, and innovation.’”
“And calling for strong action to enforce intellectual property laws against infringers.
“As you meet tomorrow with some of the world’s major corporate technology executives, we wanted to highlight some points that are assuring the continued dynamism of music as one of America’s national treasures.
“Music powers economic growth. Among other research, just this week a new study reported that music and other copyright industries in the U.S. contribute more than $1.2 trillion to our national economy and create jobs for more than 5.5 million Americans. Music is one of our nation’s great exports.
“Music drives innovation. Consumers today enjoy more music in more formats than ever, as the music industry has aggressively embraced technology. The industry has worked with more than 360 digital services providing instant access to tens of millions of songs from any location in our country at the touch of a button.
“Indeed, many of today’s popular technology platforms owe much of their growth and success to music. Music is responsible for the most-followed accounts on Facebook and Twitter, the most-watched videos on YouTube, and is one of the most popular draws for phones and other personal devices. These platforms thrive and grow by delivering the creative genius of songwriters and artists.
“As partners, many in the technology and corporate community should be commended for doing their part to help value creators and their content. Some have developed systems to promote a healthy market for music and deter theft. However, much more needs to be done. Search engines, user upload content platforms, hosting companies, and domain name registrars and registries should follow others’ example to effectively stop theft and assure fair payment.
“Further, there is a massive “value grab” as some of these corporations weaken intellectual property rights for America’s creators by exploiting legal loopholes never intended for them – perversely abusing U.S. law to underpay music creators, thus harming one of America’s economic and job engines.
“Surely the world’s most sophisticated technology corporations can do better – by helping to prevent illegal access and paying fair market value for music with prices set by or based on the free market.
"Strong protection for intellectual property rights will assure growth in both creativity and technology, benefiting the American economy as a whole.
“We hope you will lead the effort to assure American creativity is encouraged, invested in, protected and fairly compensated in a manner that carries out the exclusive rights guaranteed in the Constitution to those who, with the genius of their mind, form the cultural identity of our great nation.
“Sincerely,
“American Association of Independent Music (A2IM)
“American Federation of Musicians
“American Society of Composers, Authors and 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 and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)
“SESAC
“The Songwriters Guild of America
“SoundExchange.”
You couldn't make this up: the frontman of a British punk band has told how he was refused entry to the US this week after a furious emigration officer lambasted him for impersonating the US President during a live gig in German last year!
Read More
Dozens of artists have used their music to express outrage throughout Trump's campaign and into his presidency, but now the US President has a pro-Trump tune he wants everyone to hear.
Read More
The unpredictable US President is famous for his abrupt manners and even occasionally hanging up on other country's leaders during heated so-called diplomatic phone calls. But he was charm personified last night when chatting with our new Taoiseach... and he even took the time to pause mid-conversation to flirt with RTÉ’s Washington correspondent, who was invited into the Oval Office to film the historic phone call.
Read More American Idol star Adam Lambert has used a very strong expletive to heavily criticize the US President's first 100 days in the Oval Office.
Read More
As the immigration issue rages across the U.S. even the world’s biggest music showcase isn’t immune.
Read More The comedian and former late night chat show host believes the US President is so "ignorant" that it's "insulting to America"!
Read More You couldn't make it up: the so-called Leader of the Free World, Donald Trump reckons that the mix-up in announcing the winner for Best Picture happened because the Hollywood elite were too focused on attacking him!
Read More
Filmmaker Louis Theroux has revealed that he is now planning to make a documentary exploring Donald Trump's path to power.
Read More No bunnies were boiled, but otherwise it was full-on Fatal Attraction...
Read More Conor Dignam SC, Chairman of The Bar of Ireland Human Rights Committee has criticised Trump, saying "President Trump's personal attacks on US judges for performing their duties has no place in a democracy based on the rule of law." He also believes that it a sinister trend, for which Trump should be condemned.
Read More He once played a boxing champ in Raging Bull, but now Hollywood actor Robert De Niro confesses that he’s like a bull in a china shop who would love to punch Donald Trump in order to teach him some manners! While action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger has also admitted that he too would like to take a pop at the US President and “smash his face into the table”!
Read More An Oscar-nominated film director from Iran has confirmed that he won’t be attending the prestigious Academy Awards ceremony in LA because of President Donald Trump’s controversial ban to stop Muslims from seven countries entering the US.
Read More
The writer later apologised on Twitter, saying her actions were "inexcusable."
Read More
There’s just been even more embarrassing news for President-elect Donald Trump – with a Bruce Springsteen cover band now also deciding to pull out of playing at the inauguration ball later this week.
Read More Broadway star Jennifer Holliday has made a dramatic u-turn and decided not to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s looming inauguration on 20 January.
Read More Senior US intelligence officials briefed both US President Obama and Donald Trump last week about claims that Russian spies have obtained compomrising personal and financial information about the President-elect, according to shock news reports that surfaced last night in the US media.
Read More
Trump announced that the album sales of young singer Jackie Evancho have "skyrocketed" since it was announced she would be singing at his inauguration. As a fellow Hot Press journalist points out, there's also another way of looking at it.
Read More British singer Rebecca Ferguson has been asked to sing at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on 20 January – but the 2010 X-Factor runner-up took to Twitter to say she will only “graciously accept” the invitation on condition that she’s allowed to perform Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’.
Read More An angry passenger had to be forcibly removed from a domestic US flight after going on rant when he spotted President-elect Donald Trump’s daughter on the same plane.
Read More President-elect Donald Trump took to twitter yesterday to attack Vanity Fair’s editor after the magazine gave one of his restaurants a negative review in their latest edition to just hit the newsstands.
Read More Tina Fey has opened up about how she believes that Donald Trump’s negative presidential campaign and his shock victory has alarmingly fueled an increased level of misogyny in the US.
Read More “Do not deceive yourselves: Trump is no ordinary conservative Republican. He is the closest thing to Hitler Americans have ever seen.” That’s the stark warning from an Associate Professor of US History at Trinity College Dublin.
Read More
Christmas may be coming - but in the wake of the most astonishing US Presidential election in living memory, the fear that a cadre of white supremacists may get their hands on the levers of power is growing. And it feels like uncharted territory...
Read More
Bernie Sanders has confessed that he's left wondering "what if" if it was him instead of Hillary Clinton who ran against Donald Trump.
Read More The US's First Lady-elect is threatening YouTube with a major lawsuit over a video on its site that claims her son Barron is autistic.
Read More The USA might have had a very different President-elect right now – if it wasn’t for the fact that Donald Trump's grandfather was booted out of Germany, according to a legal decree that was recently discovered.
Read More The chairperson of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform in the USA is urging the media to stop sensationalizing President-elect Donald Trump’s comments on immigration.
Read More US President-elect Donald Trump opened up about a wide-range of contentious issue – discussing everything from abortion, to same sex-marriage and immigration – on CBS’ iconic show 60 Minutes on Sunday night.
Read More First there was shock... and regret. And then the city of San Francisco – a place where so many one-time outsiders have found a home that welcomes them – rose up and marched. It was a moment where hope began again. But the road ahead will not be easy...
Read More More white women voted for Donald Trump than for Hillary Clinton. And as for white men? They were even worse. The questions is: why? And the answer? Trump’s victory is an endorsement of white racism...
Read More
Discover classic book reviews of 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' and 'The Great Gatsby' through a Donald Trump filter.
Read More Celebrities tweeted up a storm during last night's debate
Read More
The Republican candidate is damaging both himself and the US electoral system with his ever more absurd utterances.
Read More Saturday Night Live are also giving the American Mr. Pussy a hard time
Read More The Trump campaign has been rocked by yet another controversy. It’s being claimed that there is a drove of controversial material of unaired footage from ‘The Apprentice’ show in which for the Republican presidential candidate makes unsuitable sexually comments about contestants and crew members. It’s claimed he even made comments on contestants breast size during breaks in filming the hugely popular show.
Read More The potential next American Presidential gave the late-night shows plenty to dissect
Read More
The US presidential debate comes to the streets of Killarney
Read More
As part of MoveOn.org's "United Against Hate" campaign
Read More While there is something frighteningly familiar about the mass shooting that claimed 50 lives at Pulse nightclub, there are also signs of an even more disturbing trend within US society. Hot Press writer – and Florida native – Mackenzie Kees explains.
Read More The unthinkable has come to pass. A former reality television star and world-famous blowhard is the presumptive Republican Party candidate. But how did “The Donald” outflank party favourites to come within a hair’s breath of the most powerful office on earth? Here is a frontline report from our man in Washington DC.
Read More The hip-hop singer has assured Trump on Twitter that a "cease and desist" is coming his way
Read More There's a new anthem for the times we live in!
Read More "Women, you have to treat them like shit"
Read More This is the second time since 2015 that the hacktivist group has targeted Trump's campaign – on this occasion declaring that it is 'hateful' and 'appalling'
Read More
"Trump is a messed up guy with a hole in his heart that he tries to fill with money and attention. He can never ever have enough of either and he'll never stop trying"
Read More In a climate where anger Is plentiful but constructive solutions rarely offered, maybe we need the stability and clear-headedness of consensus politics...
Read More The Republican front-runner admits that he's full of it...
Read More Someone has superimposed Donald Trump's head into Game of Thrones and it is terrifying.
Read More Needless to say, Donald Trump is among them...
Read More
"The trouble with Trump is that he is, by temperament, by experience, and by character, utterly unqualified to be president of the United States. He is a buffoon."
Read More Declaring the programme a job's scheme for foreign youngsters, Trump hopes to scrap the the initiative if he gets elected into office
Read MoreFor information including benefits, key facts, figures and rates for advertising with Hot Press, click below
Advertise 
