Congress Launches Creative Rights Caucus

Here’s some great news from Capitol Hill that should be music to ASCAP members’ ears: on February 20th, Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) and Congressman Howard Coble (R-NC), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, launched the new bi-partisan Congressional Creative Rights Caucus for the 113th Congress. The stated goal of the Caucus is to educate Members of Congress and the general public about the importance of preserving and protecting the rights of the creative community in the US.

“American innovation hinges on creativity – it is what allows our kids to dream big and our artists to create works that inspire us all,” remarked Rep. Chu. “Serving that notion is exactly what this new Caucus will do.”

Rep. Coble touched on an equally important reason why this Caucus is needed: “The economic contributions made by the creative community keep our nation competitive in a global economy. These works are among our most precious exports because the ingenuity, skill and craftsmanship of American creators cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world.”

The launch of this Caucus comes at a critical time for songwriters and composers. Businesses that want to use copyrighted works without paying rightsholders fair compensation have waged a clever, well-funded campaign to delegitimize copyright protection in the public's eyes. The Creative Rights Caucus could help bring much needed balance to the copyright debate by educating the public, and Congress, that copyright protection serves to protect the human rights, First Amendment rights, and property rights of individual creators, like songwriters and composers. As Congress considers music licensing reform, especially with respect to digital music services, it will be critical that Congress and the public understand that the online devaluation of the creative work of songwriters and composers impairs their internationally-recognized human rights, their freedom of expression, and their private property interests.

Much has been made about the rights of music listeners to access and share copyrighted music, but too little attention has been paid to the rights of music creators. This Caucus may help to rectify that imbalance.

It’s a climate that ASCAP President Paul Williams hopes the Creative Rights Caucus will work to change: “As an organization of 450,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, all of us at ASCAP know what a huge role copyright plays in our livelihood,” Williams said. “We’re thrilled that our allies in Congress have recognized the importance of preserving our rights, and taken such a proactive step in letting their colleagues and constituents know, too. I greatly look forward to working hand in hand with the Creative Rights Caucus.”