The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) held its annual meeting in New York City this week. A few hundred member publishers - both big and small - attended, showing support for the diligent work of the NMPA. They graciously hosted the Copyright Alliance at the meeting as a partner in copyright issues.

The meeting was full of energy and excitement as ideas were exchanged, old friends reunited, and songwriters were honored.

Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, launched the meeting as the keynote speaker, reinforcing the importance of upholding copyright across all arts industries. NMPA President and CEO David Israelite briefed attendees on industry facts and its efforts to support music publishers.

A number of songwriters were presented with NMPA's Gold and Platinum Composition Awards. And, to top the meeting off, Amy Lee gave a stunning performance on her piano in honor of her acceptance of the 2008 Icon Songwriter Award.

Following the meeting, I chatted with numerous music publishers about how copyright infringement affects the music industry, various cultural nuances that contribute to a need for public education about copyright, and the intricacies of helping both students and teachers to better understand the importance of abiding by copyright laws.

Each person I talked with verbalized the importance of having a place like the Copyright Alliance where artists across all industries can come together with one voice to promote and uphold copyright.

Part of the interest stems from the fact that music publishers wear many hats. Some people I talked with are lawyers who work in the music industry. I also talked with songwriters who are administrators and publishers who are teachers. I met musicians who are book publishers and also lawyers. Because of this, each person cites not just one, but a multitude of motivations to uphold copyright laws. He or she understands that it affects his or her industry, family, and ultimately, personal well-being.        

This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 10:01 am by Lucinda M. Dugger and is filed under creators, education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.