Inside The New York Chapter’s Advocacy For The Passage Of A. 127 — How It’d Help Protect Artistic Freedom

TheGRAMMYs On The Hill Awardsreturned to D.C. on April 30 and united lawmakers and artists in an unparalleled celebration of music and human connection. The star-studded event, taking place once again at The Hamilton Live in downtown Washington, began with a rousing rendition of the National Anthem.

The genre-defying electroacoustic duo Arkai took the stage, held their violin and cello, and laid into a reharmonized "The Star-Spangled Banner." Like any exceptional musical performance, it hit like a gale force of humanity. It also showcased how human creativity has always embraced new technology with stirring and inspiring results.

The power of music to help us reconnect with our humanity provided the foundation for two issues the Recording Academy spotlighted during the evening. The first is the need to protect the image, likeness and voice of individual creators from AI fakes through legislative measures, such as the House's No AI Fraud Actand the Senate's No FAKES Act discussion draft.

But thanks to the threat to likenesses and copyrights that is AI, music's essential humanity is under siege. Ticketing, too, is being hijacked; accordingly, the second issue on the docket is reforming thelive event ticketmarketplace to better protect artists and fans through legislation including the Senate's the Fans First Actand the House bill the TICKET Act.

And as always, when an existential threat for artists surfaces, the Recording Academy is there to defend its global community of music makers.

Prior to Arkai's thrilling performance, a host of music's best and brightest gathered in front of a step-and-repeat to express their feelings on AI and ticketing in 2024. One was TV producer, musician, and Recording Academy member Candiace Dillard Bassett, who had the honor of hosting the GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards.

Bassett conceded there are a lot of components of AI that are "beneficial to our everyday lives." However, "If it's not being contained, then it's a danger. It's abusive," she said. "As creators, we deserve to have our likeness and our images. It's very simple.

"The biggest challenge is knowing that the artists' economy can be really diminished by technology," said three-time GRAMMY winner and three-time nominee, poet J. Ivy.

GRAMMY-winning jazz singer Sara Gazarek noted the importance of artists themselves raising their voices - not just tech giants and the like. "Not just business owners and CEOs and people who are set to profit from some of these things," she said, "but really the ones who are representing culture and the human side of what it is that we're doing."

And Todd Dupler, the Chief Advocacy & Public Policy Officer at the Recording Academy, put it gravely: "We've already seen the technology get to the place where people can have their voice or their image manipulated in ways that they would've never approved of or would never have never intended somebody to see."

On the topic of ticketers' rights, artists were equally vociferous.

"You can only garner the trust of your fans once," said two-time GRAMMY winner, singer/songwriter Lauren Daigle, noting her $40 shows have ballooned to $400 thanks to intercepting bots. "I feel like it's time for change. We need to create legislation that's going to stop this from happening."

This year's Best New Artist nominees, the War on Treaty, concurred. "Based on where their paychecks land, I think that that's a difficult conversation," said their Michael Trotter Jr. "I think that we should remember the human. I think we need to remember that art touches everyone and that we need to do everything we can and make it as accessible as it can."

"We need our fans, and they need us to give an exchange," said thrice-nominated rapper Rapsody. "We can't take advantage of their fandom and their pockets."

"It's a bipartisan issue," concluded Dupler. "Everybody understands how important live music and live events are for our community, and so we're optimistic that we can get something done."

And with that, the audience took to their feet for Arkai's patriotic performance.

As mentioned, Bassett led the program as master of ceremonies with aplomb. The gestalt of GRAMMYs On The Hill 2024 was to honor Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who've reached across the aisle to protect the music community.

Sen. Cornyn, a dogged fighter against ticket predation, was the first to receive his GRAMMYs On The Hill Award.

"What I love about music is that it's a universal language that connects people to each other, across borders, across boundaries," he said. "This bill takes the power out of the hands of the bots, the bad actors, and puts it back in the hands of the people that make live shows so special."

Right then, the spousal duo War and Treaty - who are about to open for the Stones in stadiums - manifested that power with a killing performance of "That's How Love is Made." ("Everything in life boils down to the human experience," Trotter declared beforehand.)

A rousing performance of gospel classic "Oh, Happy Day" followed, led by The Choir Room's Dwan Hill. Hill cajoled the capacity room of lawmakers and industry leaders to rise to their feet and share in a communal, squarely flesh-and-blood, musical experience.

Then, Tammy Hurt, the Chair of the Recording Academy's Board of Trustees, brought out an unwavering advocate - and Minnesota legend - in Jimmy Jam. He presented the second GRAMMYs On The Hill Award to Klobuchar, "for her unprecedented leadership and allyship to music and its makers."

In her witty and wide-ranging speech, Klobuchar brought the audience's memories back to Covid, and its catastrophic effect on the live music industry. "Now that music is back and concerts are back big time," she declared, "the important job of working across the aisle to bring common sense rules to online ticketing."

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. then took the stage. "Music is irreplaceable. Do you agree?" he poignantly asked the audience. "This means the people behind the music are irreplaceable - do you agree with that?

Mason was quick to point out that AI isn't allbad - in and of itself, it's not a bogeyman to defeat.

"Some of this technology, it's really exciting," he said. "It's going to be used by innovative creators to make some amazing and incredibly creative new music, I'm sure… but I'm also concerned. We've seen it used to manipulate and exploit individuals without their knowledge, without their permission.

"And that's why we're advocating for appropriate AI guardrails that will safeguard the irreplaceable human creators behind the music," he concluded, "while we lean into the promise and the possibilities of this new technology."

Daigle then took the stage to perform an effervescent "Soak Up the Sun" in tribute to the night's marquee honoree. Then Crow herself, the 2024 Creators Leadership Award honoree, took the stage in a cream-hued pantsuit. Crow performed one new song ("Evolution") and one classic ("Every Day is a Winding Road"), augmented by miles of slide guitar.

"Music is the energy that moves your body," the nine-time GRAMMY winner, 32-time nominee, and tireless advocate for creators' rights underscored. "It does not exist in a computer." Of course, computers are blessings - they're responsible for monumental music.

But it always comes back to the human- and whether through the lens of AI or ticketing, the 2024 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards were a celebration of all things wedreamt up.

The 2024 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards were sponsored by City National Bank and benefited the GRAMMY Museum.

2024 GRAMMYs On The Hill: How Sens. John Cornyn & Amy Klobuchar Support Music & Advocate For Creators' Rights