The National Music Council of the United States, along with its music community colleagues, is extremely gratified that its efforts to curb the illegitimate expansion of the fair use doctrine in various foreign nations during the global pandemic have met with success! The United States Trade Representative and the Biden Administration has heard our voices, and responded by ensuring that while massive global efforts to fight COVID-19 must and will continue unabated and at full speed, those actions cannot be permitted to lead to the gutting of global copyright protections for no valid reason.
Final wording of the joint agreement, which further delineates Covid-19 exemptions to the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), are still being worked out. The Trips Agreement establishes minimum standards of protection that each government has to give to the IP of fellow WTO members. The new agreement will continue to narrowly define Covid-based, fair-use exemptions for unauthorized copyright uses, consistent with the strict, general limits currently in place.
The coronavirus has already had a devastating economic impact on America’s nonprofit arts sector. Financial losses to date are estimated to be $3.2 billion. Since January 20th, cancellations and closings have been reported in thousands of communities spanning all 50 states. In order to support the sector at this vital time, REQUEST THAT YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS include $4 billion—to be distributed though the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) — to help offset the losses of the nonprofit arts industry, and expand eligibility through additional federal programs to ensure artists, entrepreneurs, and small businesses in the creative economy can utilize business interruption relief.
Using copyrighted materials is a complicated, but necessary ingredient in education. With recent lawsuits to schools topping $9 million it’s important to understand copyright compliance for the music classroom. With assistance and endorsement from the National Music Council, a copyright compliance education course has been developed by NMC members NAfME and NFHS.
This helpful course was designed by the NFHS and NAfME to explain what copyright means and when there may be exceptions. It discusses Fair Use, when a piece of music might be in the Public Domain, copyright infringement penalties, and much more. This unique course has been designed for the specific needs of Music Teachers, Spirit Coaches, School Administrators, Theatre Directors, and Speech/Debate
Coaches.
By completing this course, teachers and administrators can earn Continuing Education Units for recertification within their state.
As we move into March, NAfME will be holding its 33rd annual Music In Our Schools Month® celebration.
This year’s theme is “Music Connects Us.” We encourage you to show how music connects you by sharing videos and photos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Be sure to use this year’s hashtags #MIOSM and #MusicConnectsUs in order to solidify our united “trending” voice, and tag @NAfME so that we can highlight your posts.
Join the National Music Council on Capitol Hill as arts advocates from across the country convene in Washington, D.C. Arts Advocacy Day brings together a broad cross section of America’s cultural and civic organizations, along with more than 500 grassroots advocates from across the country, to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased public funding for the arts.
NATIONAL MUSIC COUNCIL LETTER TO CONGRESS FOR ARTS ADVOCACY DAY 2018
The members of the National Music Council, who together represent some one million individuals, are unified in a commitment to support music education. We know how much a balanced, sequential education that includes music can bring to the development of our young people. We have all, individually and collectively, seen the impact that music education has on the social, physical, and intellectual growth of students. We have all watched with growing interest the explosion of research that backs up our long-held belief in the essential importance of music education.
Sadly, we have also seen the growth of forces that stand in the way of every child receiving the benefits of music education. Sometimes these forces are political; sometimes they are budgetary; and sometimes they are simply administrative. In all cases, however, they can be easily overcome with a simple commitment (reflected in legislation and in funding) to providing our children with the benefits of music education.
In light of this, we ask your commitment for the following legislative recommendations:
- Eliminate sequestration caps to improve the federal investment on education and allocate robust funding to key education initiatives from ESSA, including all “Well- Rounded Education” programs.
- Fully fund all aspects of ESSA through the appropriations process for both FY18 and FY19, including Title IV, Part A. In this funding and in all aspects of ESSA, maintain a focus on equity and access for every child in our diverse student populations to ensure that they receive a full and well-rounded education.
- Include grants and loan forgiveness provisions for teachers in any Higher Education Act reauthorization, and better align the law with ESSA’s commitment to a well-rounded education.
- Fund the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) in music and arts education for the 2019-2020 school year. FRSS is the best tracking of student access and participation to music and arts education at the national level.
- Preserve and support the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency that provides supplemental funding in support of high quality arts programming, including programming that complements in- school music education provided by our nation’s music educators.
We will all benefit from these measures: the music industry, which contributes significantly to our national economy; professional performers, who add immeasurably to our communities; composers, arrangers, and publishers, who bring the riches of creation to our national life; and most of all, our children. We thank you for your consideration of these important goals, which will benefit not only our children, but will ultimately increase the creative output of American composers and musicians to the betterment of not only the social fabric of the United States, but also the economy.
Founded in 1940 and chartered by the 84th Congress in 1956, the National Music Council is in a unique position to assist in these matters. We offer our collective expertise in providing you with any documentation or information that might serve you, and our gratitude for your support.
The members of the National Music Council, who together represent some one million individuals, are unified in a commitment to support music education because we know how much a balanced, sequential education that includes music can bring to the development of our young people. We have all, individually and collectively, seen the impact that music education has on the social, physical, and intellectual growth of students. We have all watched with growing interest the explosion of research that backs up our long-held belief in the essential importance of music education.
Sadly, we have also seen the growth of forces that stand in the way of every child receiving the benefits of music education. Sometimes these forces are political; sometimes they are budgetary; and sometimes they are simply administrative. In all cases, however, they can be easily overcome with a simple commitment (reflected in legislation and in funding) to providing our children with the benefits of music education.
In light of this, we ask your commitment for the following legislative recommendations:
• Complete the Appropriations Process for Fiscal Year 2017: If another stopgap spending measure is applied to finish the remainder of the Fiscal Year, Every Student Succeeds Act’s (ESSA) first year of implementation would be severely hampered
• Follow ESSA’s congressional intent, and ensure states, districts, charters, and local schools have the most flexibility to spend their federal dollars where needed. Robust funding for all well-rounded programs, including Title IV, Part A, must be a priority to protect this flexibility.
• Support Access to Music Education for the Most Disadvantaged Students by Fully Funding Title I, Part A
• Support Professional Development for Music Educators by Fully Funding Title I, Part A, Title II, Part A and Title IV, Parts A and F
• Support Access to Music Education as Part of a “Well Rounded Education” by fully funding Title IV, Part A
We will all benefit from these measures: the music industry, which contributes significantly to our national economy; professional performers, who add immeasurably to our communities; composers, arrangers, and publishers, who bring the riches of creation to our national life; and most of all, our children. We thank you for your consideration of these important goals, which will benefit not only our children, but will ultimately increase the creative output of American composers and musicians to the betterment of not only the social fabric of the United States, but also the economy.
Founded in 1940 and chartered by the 84th Congress in 1956, the National Music Council in a unique position to assist in these matters. We offer our collective expertise in providing you with any documentation or information that might serve you, and our gratitude for your support.