The Recording Academy, RIAA, Congressional members, musicians, actors and more join forces to protect the arts
Music’s biggest week in Washington, D.C. is in the books as The Recording Academy united congressional leaders and music makers to champion creators’ rights and honor those who have helped shape a better future for music during its annual Grammys on the Hill. This year’s event kicked off on Tuesday, April 8th with the Grammys on the Hill Awards, honoring even-time Grammy winner Randy Travis and United States Representatives Linda Sánchez (D-CA) and Ron Estes (R-KS) for their commitment to advancing pro-music policy.
Stars and pro-music advocates showed up on the red carpet where we chatted with Randy and wife Mary Travis, Grammy-winning Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying (who hosted the awards), The Beatles producer Giles Martin, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr., and The Nanny actress and SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. All interviews, sans Drescher, can be seen below.
Mary Travis, who speaks on behalf of her husband Randy after he lost his voice to a stroke in 2013, says it’s a big honor for him to be recognized for moving the development of AI in control of the creator.
“It’s not just the music, it’s about what he can — He has a song ‘Three Wooden Crosses,'” Travis tells us. “And it talks about ‘It’s not what you take when you go, it’s what you leave behind.’ And I think we’re at that point in our life where he wants to know what he can leave behind with music. And if it’s to make things brighter for the artists behind us and to leave a healthy environment for them, to get the artists paid on the radio, to get AI so that it’s controlled and their name and evidence and likeness is not stolen from them. That’s what’s important and there’s good ways and there’s bad ways.”
Drescher may be well known as an award winning actress, but she also represents the Hollywood community’s concerns with AI.
“I will see this first piece of legislation as a cornerstone for really protecting democracy,” Drescher tells The Music Universe. “I feel like I always go to the mat for those who are marginalized, those who may be the underdog. And this is my industry, the entertainment industry. And I feel like I have something to say. We’re at a very historic moment in our industry’s history because of the advent of AI and what it could do in terms of destruction for my members as president of SAG-AFTRA. It’s important to me to step up and say the things that maybe other people don’t know how to say.”
The awards began promptly at 7 pm with Moriah performing the National Anthem. Doe followed with the original “So Glad We Met.” Travis was honored by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Paul Overstreet and country singer/songwriter Meghan Linsey, performing “Forever and Ever Amen” and “I Told You So,” respectively. Hoying also performed a Grammy Record of the Year medley featuring “Moon River” and “I Will Always Love You.”
Dozens of Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning artists, songwriters and producers joined the Recording Academy on Capitol Hill yesterday (Wed, Apr 9th) for a grassroots day of advocacy. Music makers in attendance met with members of Congress to advocate for the key legislative priorities impacting music creators, including promoting new music through essential tax relief to independent artists and songwriters, enabling them to deduct one hundred percent of production costs—up to $150,000—upfront, rather than over multiple years, through the bipartisan Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act; Protecting creators’ image, likeness and voice from unauthorized creation and use of digital replicas through the NO FAKES Act, which U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced introduced last year; and preserving continued federal support for the arts and cultural institutions that enrich and strengthen the cultural fabric of America.
“The Academy is proud to represent and serve creators, and for decades, Grammys on the Hill has brought music makers to our nation’s capital to elevate the policy issues affecting our industry,” says Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. “Today’s reintroduction of the NO FAKES Act underscores our members’ commitment to advocating for the music community, and as we enter a new era of technology, we must create guardrails around AI and ensure it enhances – not replaces – human creativity. We thank Senators Blackburn and Coons, and Representatives Dean and Salazar for their unwavering support on this issue, and we look forward to working alongside them to pass the NO FAKES Act this Congress.”
Additional legislation to protect creators in the age of AI include the successful passage of the ELVIS Act in Tennessee in 2024, which inspired similar legislation in California and Illinois.
Today (Thurs, Apr 10th) saw creators and music industry executives from Recording Academy chapters across the country gather for a forum. They talked about the future of music, as well as the future of music legislation nationally and at the state level. All with an eye toward protecting artists from emerging technologies, and continuing to fight for fare wages for streaming and radio play. The 2025 Future Forum ended with a fireside chat with Grammy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr.
Matt Bailey contributed to this report.
