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Capitol Hill Spent The Week Talking About AI: Key Takeaways For The Music Community

The House and Senate Judiciary Committee hearings focused on various aspects of AI and raised timely questions about how the tech will affect different levels of society — including the music industry.

Congress - AI - Advocacy - Body Text

Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be on *everyone's* mind these days — and last week, both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees held hearings on the controversial and game-changing tech.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Oversight of A.I.: Rules for Artificial Intelligence" took place on Tues. May 16th; the House Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property: Part 1 – Interoperability of AI and Copyright Law" occurred the following day.

Although the hearings focused on different aspects of AI, both raised timely questions about the future of AI and how it will affect different industries — including music.

The Senate hearing, led by the Chair of the Privacy, Technology, &amp; the Law Subcommittee, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), focused on the potential consequences of AI such as job loss, impacted elections, disinformation, and privacy, but also on potential solutions to mitigate these concerns such as transparency and government regulation. 

Throughout the hearing, senators questioned the witnesses on what they believe can be done to ensure a safe advancement of these rapidly growing technologies. The witnesses consisted of: 

* Samuel Altman, CEO, OpenAI  

* Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy &amp; Trust Officer, IBM 

* Gary Marcus, Professor Emeritus, New York University

When it came time for Senator Blackburn (R-TN) to question the witnesses, it came as no surprise that the Tennessee Senator raised concerns about the effect of AI on the music community. Notably, she made clear that the creative community should have a choice in whether or not their copyrighted works are used to train AI models. The Senator even raised concerns that OpenAI's jukebox has songs similar to Garth Brooks — indicating that it was trained on his music.

In response, Altman stated that he agrees that creators deserve control over how their content is used and that we need to figure out a way that they benefit from this emerging technology.

Blackburn further questioned Altman on how artists would be compensated for the use of their copyrighted works in training AI models. Although he agreed that was needed, Altman did not have a plan for ensuring that artists are compensated.

Blackburn's time for questioning expired, but it was noted throughout the hearing that this would be the first of many Senate hearings on AI and the Recording Academy will continue to monitor what this could mean for music.

The next day, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet held its own hearing on AI. This hearing, led by Subcommittee Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA), focused on AI and copyright — a topic that the[ Recording Academy has been focused on](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/ai-copyright-protecting-music-creators-united-states-copyright-office) throughout 2023. The hearing's witnesses included:

* Dan Navarro, GRAMMY nominated songwriter, singer, recording artist, and voice actor

* Sy Damle, Partner, Latham &amp; Watkins LLP and former General Counsel of the U.S. Copyright Office

* Chris Callison-Burch, Associate Professor of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania and Visiting Research Scientist, Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence

* Ashley Irwin, President, Society of Composers and Lyricists and Emmy Award-winning music director, conductor, composer, arranger, and producer

* Jeffrey Sedlik, President &amp; CEO, PLUS Coalition, Member, Joint Committee on Ethics in AI, and professional photographer. 

In his opening statement, Issa highlighted that copyright laws exist to encourage and award creative expression. He also noted that this was the first of many hearings and that the end goal was to safeguard the rights of existing creators. 

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) expressed similar sentiments in his opening statements by calling for attention from Congress and AI developers to ensure that AI does not displace human creators or threaten the ability for the creative workforce to thrive. 

Over the course of the hearing, representatives and the witnesses toggled with the question of what, if anything, should congress do to ensure they strike the right balance between protecting and promoting creators and ensuring a safe advancement of AI technology.

In an attempt to answer that question, three key components were established when it comes to the use of copyrighted materials being used to train and develop AI technology. These three components were *credit*, *consent*, and *compensation*.

As the hearing went on, committee members came back to these three pillars. Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) posed this question to Navarro: as a generational singer, why is it not enough to just give credit to an artist if their voice is being used in AI-generated work? 

Navarro, who is a member of the[ Human Artistry CampAIgn](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/human-artistry-campaign-ai-artificial-intelligence-music-industry-panel), a coalition the Recording Academy helped launch in partnership with other stakeholders in the music community, responded that royalties are generated when an artist's work is used, so if they did not give consent then credit is not enough.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), whose district includes Hollywood, brought up a recent study that found that 11% of AI learning comes from the entertainment industry. He stated that although AI can be used to enrich the works of the creative industry, behind all of that work are the actual creatives — the people. Schiff continued that copyright is the foundation that allows American artists to earn a living and creates jobs for the sake of creating art.

In addition to copyright regulation, the right to publicity was also raised. One witness, Professor Callison-Burch, made a point to mention that when AI generated work sounds similar both in voice and in content to a copyrighted material such as a Taylor Swift song, that even though AI generated music may not be a copyright infringement, setting up right to publicity safeguards is an important measure to protect artists' rights.

The purpose of the hearings was to gather information and insight from people who are well versed in the creative and AI worlds. Although no policy decisions were made over the course of these two hearings, this is just the start of Congress working to ensure that AI enhances — not stifles — the creative community and American music creators.  

[Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act Reintroduced In Congress: Carry The Fight Forward With These Inspiring &amp; Galvanizing Quotes From The 2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards &amp; Advocacy Day](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/grammys-on-the-hill-rap-restoring-artistic-protections-act-quotes)

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Capitol Hill On AI: Key Takeaways

Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act Reintroduced In Congress: Carry The Fight Forward - Quotes

While the 2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards and Advocacy Day, which highlighted the RAP Act, may have come and gone, carry the fight forward with these impactful expressions from the two-day gathering.

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It was emotionally stirring to stand before the U.S. Capitol on April 27. It was [Advocacy Day](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/advocacy-day-2023-grammys-on-the-hill-recap-capitol), the day immediately following the [2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/pharrell-williams-grammys-on-the-hill-2022-awards-recap), and members of congress and music industry leaders met at a press conference to [announce the reintroduction](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/restoring-artistic-protection-rap-act-reintroduction-grammys-hill-goth-2023) of the [Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/rap-act-restoring-artistic-protection-house-of-representatives-what-to-know), while also reflecting on what hip-hop means to them.

"Imagine being a young, Black teenager in New York City and watching the movie *Do the Right Thing*, directed by Spike Lee. The story of Radio Raheem. The story of Sal's Pizza. The story of no Black people on the wall," said Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who along with Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) introduced the bill on that glorious spring day.

"Now, I'm in Congress in 2020, walking around asking, 'Where the hell are all the Black people on the wall?' because of a movie like that," the congressman continued. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for [Eric B. &amp; Rakim](https://www.grammy.com/news/pump-it-eric-b-rakim-launch-first-tour-20-years), [Big Daddy Kane](https://www.grammy.com/artists/big-daddy-kane/507), KRS-One, [X-Clan](https://www.grammy.com/news/9-revolutionary-rap-albums-know-kendrick-lamar-black-star-earthgang-more), [Public Enemy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/public-enemy/14695), Brand Nubian."

RAP Act Quotes: YouTube Embed

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Rep. Bowman went on to express how Rakim's philosophy of self-knowledge provided a foundation for his thinking. But then, a moment of startling truth struck, one totally apropos to the occasion for this gathering.

"I could differentiate between [N.W.A.](https://www.grammy.com/news/nwa-are-straight-outta-compton-record)'s music and how I should behave in society," Rep. Bowman stated. "I didn't want to go mimic what they were saying. I knew it was them expressing what was going on in their community and them sensationalizing certain things.

"That's what artists do. That's what Stephen King does. That's what George Lucas does," he added. "Pick your art, pick your director, pick your writer, pick your author — this is what they do."

**Read More:** [Here's What Went Down At GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day 2023, A Fight For All Music Creators On Capitol Hill](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/advocacy-day-2023-grammys-on-the-hill-recap-capitol)

The Restoring Artistic Protection Act is a bill that would limit the use of song lyrics as evidence in courtrooms nationwide; while it applies to all styles of artistic expression, it disproportionately affects artists who are people of color, particularly members of the hip-hop sphere.

While GRAMMYs On The Hill, which advocated for the bill, may have come and gone, carry the fight forward with these impactful quotations from the Advocacy Day press conference and the GRAMMYs On The Hill red carpet.

> It’s a really slippery slope. If you start allowing art to be used as evidence, it’s going to change the nature of how people filter the way they think and write. It’s going to change their storytelling ability. When you’re creating, you have to be free to tell a story — to create magic, to dream. This isn’t reality TV. These aren’t documentaries. These are things that are sometimes escapism. Sometimes, they’re fantasies. They’re aspirational. There are a lot of reasons why people write songs, and we can’t have these lyricists or writers held liable for things they say in the middle of a piece of art.

— Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy

> \[The First Amendment\] is the foundational stone of democracy. If you don't have freedom of expression, if you don't enable artists to create without fear of prosecution or censoring, you don't have democracy.

— Panos A. Panay, President of the Recording Academy

> The government should not be able to silence artists simply because they write, draw, sing, or rap about controversial or taboo subjects.

— Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)

> As a music creator myself, I know how important it is that we safeguard artists' freedom to create at all costs and to work to eradicate the biases that come with the unconstitutional practice of using lyrics as evidence, which disproportionately affect artists of color and penalizes the creativity of Black and Brown creatives. This discriminatory practice must come to a halt, and not only for artists making rap music. Criminalizing creative works has a dangerous impact on all genres of music, on all forms of creative expression from hip-hop to jazz to classical dance to literature.

— Rico Love, Vice Chair on the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy and [Black Music Collective](https://www.recordingacademy.com/inclusion/black-music-collective) Chair

> You know, rap music actually is folk music, because folk music is the voice of the people. And this is the voice of a community of people that must never be stifled, must never be muzzled. \[It\] must never be a rolling stone, a rabbit hole into more and more censorship because people are afraid that if they say something, it might be admissible in court and it might be held against them — when, actually, it falls under the First Amendment and it is their right to express themselves because they're expressing the voice of the people.

— Actress, comedian, writer, and president of SAG-AFTRA Fran Drescher

> So let's not just simply think that rap artists deserve to be prosecuted based on their lyrics and nothing will happen to my music or to my graffiti or to my poetry, to my song in a different genre, or to my play or my TV show, my pilot. Let's all come together at this point and nip it in the bud while we still have a chance to do so. If we let it keep going, the monster will just get bigger and bigger.

— Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)

> I know this may come as a surprise, but sometimes, art depicts violence. Whether it's Mario Puzo's *The Godfather*, Quentin Tarantino's *Reservoir Dogs*, [Bob Marley](https://www.grammy.com/artists/bob-marley/17051)'s 'I Shot the Sheriff,' [Johnny Cash](https://www.grammy.com/artists/johnny-cash/8163)'s 'Folsom City Blues' — it's all protected, all of it. [Ice-T](https://www.grammy.com/artists/Ice-T/14192) isn't a 'cop killer' — nor is he a cop, despite now playing one on TV.

— Joe Cohn, director of FIRE's Legislative and Policy department

> Our creativity is our humanity and our art is our air. If you crush our art, you take away our air. You choke us off from breathing and participating in a democracy.

— Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)

> Hip-hop is the most significant cultural force on the planet. It grew out of the pain, the struggle, the disenfranchisement, and joy of young Black America. Hip-hop affects the voices of the unheard and the most often under attack just for our existence. We are clear that through hip-hop culture, many have broken cycles of intergenerational poverty. Therefore, we are not confused by this attack on our culture. We are clear that this is another angle to ensure that the prison-industrial complex has a steady flow of subjects to bear out the intended design. This did not lose us.

— Acclaimed rapper and co-chair of the Black Music Action Coalition Willie "Prophet" Stiggers

> Hip-hop is what made me. It's who I am. If you cut me open, I bleed the culture. From my time as a teenager, from running Def Jam for more than 20 years or leading Electra 300 today, I've seen this issue across nearly four decades in the music business. And so, to paraphrase Fannie Hamer, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired of the same damn thing.

— Kevin Liles, CEO, Chairman of the Board, Co-Founder of 300 Entertainment

> We cannot stop at today. We have to continue to fight this fight every single day because our First Amendment dictates that we have the freedom to speak and express ourselves.

— Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)

[How The 2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards Addressed The Changing Music Landscape, Celebrated Music Champions &amp; Pushed The Industry Toward Progress](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/pharrell-williams-grammys-on-the-hill-2022-awards-recap)

RAP Act Reintroduced In Congress: Inspiring Quotes

Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act Reintroduced In Congress: Carry The Fight Forward With These Inspiring & Galvanizing Quotes From The 2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards & Advocacy Day

Here's What Went Down At GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day 2023, A Fight For All Music Creators On Capitol Hill

During Advocacy Day 2023, advocates shared stories as artists and discussed with lawmakers how supporting pro-music legislation can have a life-changing impact on the music community.

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On Thurs. April 27th, the Recording Academy took to Capitol Hill alongside GRAMMY winners and nominees to advocate for creators' rights. Throughout the day, the group met with nearly 40 congressional offices to raise awareness and gain support for the issues facing music makers across America.

The Recording Academy concluded the Advocacy Day by joining Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for a press conference to announce the reintroduction of the Restoring Artistic Protection Act.

This bill, which was a key focus throughout GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day, would protect the First Amendment Rights of Artists by limiting the use of an artist's lyrics as evidence in federal criminal proceedings. 

Similar legislation has become law, or is advancing toward becoming law, in a number of states including California, Louisiana, Missouri, and New York.

In addition to discussing the Restoring Artistic Protection Act with lawmakers, the Recording Academy also advocated for passing the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act, reforming the live event and concert ticket marketplace, and building support for the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA). Some of the advocates also discussed ways AI is impacting the music industry. 

Among the advocates were Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason jr.; thirteen-time GRAMMY Winner and this year's GRAMMYs on the Hill Honoree, Pharrell Williams; five-time GRAMMY winner and Trustee on the Recording Academy's National Advocacy Committee, Angélique Kidjo; GRAMMY Nominee for Best New Artist, Tobe Nwigwe; GRAMMY Nominees for Song of the Year, GAYLE and JP Saxe; GRAMMY Nominees for Best New Artist, DOMi and JD Beck; three-time GRAMMY Nominee, Victoria Monet;  two-time GRAMMY Nominee and Board Member of the Recording Academy's Nashville Chapter, Armond Hutton; two-time GRAMMY nominee, Tank Ball of Tank and the Bangas; and many others.

During their meetings, the advocates had the opportunity to share their stories as artists and discuss with lawmakers how supporting pro-music legislation can have a life-changing impact on the music community. 

Whether it's protecting the ability to write lyrics without fear of prosecution, passing the HITS Act so music production receives the same tax treatment as film, television, and theatre, or ensuring fair pay for artists on the radio, each advocate used their experiences to drive home the need for lawmakers to pass these pieces of legislation.

Over the course of GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day, the Recording Academy met with dozens of Members of Congress including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA), House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Rep. Ken Buck (R-OH), Rep. Sydney Kamalager-Dove (D-CA), and more influential leaders.

Although GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day only occurs on an annual basis, the Recording Academy looks forward to continuing to advocate for pro-music legislation year round! 

[How The 2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards Addressed The Changing Music Landscape, Celebrated Music Champions &amp; Pushed The Industry Toward Progress](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/pharrell-williams-grammys-on-the-hill-2022-awards-recap)

Here's What Went Down At Advocacy Day 2023

How The 2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards Addressed The Changing Music Landscape, Celebrated Music Champions & Pushed The Industry Toward Progress

The 2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards honored the congressional leaders and music professionals championing creators' rights, including 13-time GRAMMY winner Pharrell Williams, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senator Bill Cassidy, while fighting for a fair and equitable industry for all.

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It virtually goes without saying that every year, the annual [GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/what-is-grammys-on-the-hill-facts-2023-awards-advocacy-day) are monumental in their own way. But for manifold reasons, 2023 stands alone.

Once again, the music industry paradigm is today shifting in real-time, driven by the [rapid rise of emerging technology](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/ai-copyright-protecting-music-creators-united-states-copyright-office), the ongoing [fight for fair compensation](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/grammy-fund-brunch-maren-morris-todd-dupler-fundraising-recap) for songwriters and artists, the [protection of artists' freedom of creative expression](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/rap-act-signing-gavin-newsom-decriminalizing-artistic-expression-ab-2799-creators), and other key music industry issues impacting creators — all of which played a central role at the [2023 GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/grammys-hill-2023-inside-creators-rights-fight-guide).

"We find ourselves at a crossroads," Panos A. Panay, President of the Recording Academy, said on the red carpet ahead of this year’s GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards last Wednesday. "It’s a time of opportunity, but I think it’s a time of peril, too."

By his telling, the evolving nature of today’s music industry is wide-spanning: There’s the [collision between AI and music](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/human-artistry-campaign-ai-artificial-intelligence-music-industry-panel) as well as the [ongoing growth of music revenues via streaming](https://www.riaa.com/2022-year-end-music-industry-revenue-report-riaa/). De novo, the music landscape has found itself in uncharted waters — financially and structurally.

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Central on the docket for GRAMMYs On The Hill 2023 is the [newly reintroduced Restoring Artistic Protection Act](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/restoring-artistic-protection-rap-act-reintroduction-grammys-hill-goth-2023). The purpose of the act — to limit the admissibility of lyrics in criminal proceedings and legal court cases — is essential for fairness and equity across the wider music industry, but carries a heightened impact on the rap community that is commonly the target of this prosecutorial tactic.

All of this would be on the table by the next morning, at the dawn of Advocacy Day 2023, when the Restoring Artistic Protection Act was reintroduced by Congressmen Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), alongside Recording Academy leaders and members  at a press conference on Capitol Hill. 

While the week’s events focused on progress and positive change, the GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards celebrated music people — and those who valiantly fight for their rights — on a higher level. Taking place at the Hamilton Live, a block from the White House, the event began with a performance from traditional New Orleans jazz trumpeter Leroy Jones, who’s performed with everyone from [Harry Connick Jr.](https://www.grammy.com/artists/harry-connick-jr/11261) to the [Preservation Hall Jazz Band](https://www.grammy.com/news/preservation-hall-jazz-band-being-evolution). Jones’ swooping, swinging, syncopated rendition — hesitating, detouring, yet concluding in a flourish — befitted an endeavor where nothing was guaranteed, but *nobody* is giving up easily.

Country-soul leading light [Maggie Rose](https://www.grammy.com/news/2021-press-play-at-home-maggie-rose-performs-for-your-consideration) then introduced [Tammy Hurt](https://www.recordingacademy.com/press-room/trustees), Chair on the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy, along with five-time GRAMMY-winning soprano legend [Renée Fleming](https://www.grammy.com/artists/renee-fleming/9048). 

They, in turn, introduced U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) with a stirring video tying into the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, presenting the Brooklyn native as a tireless warrior for music creators’ rights who proved instrumental in saving the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Upon strolling onstage, Sen. Schumer acknowledged a "great New Yorker and great American," two-time GRAMMY winner and [Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award](https://www.grammy.com/awards/lifetime-achievement-awards) recipient [Harry Belafonte](https://www.grammy.com/artists/harry-belafonte/617), who [died the previous day](https://www.grammy.com/news/remembering-harry-belafonte-singer-actor-activist-in-memoriam). "Through his music, he touched the hearts of millions, like no one ever before," Schumer said, celebrating Belafonte’s courage in "challenging an entire nation to confront the forces of segregation and bigotry."\
\
After acknowledging his friend and fellow GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards honoree from across the aisle, Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Sen. Schumer offered further expressions: "I’ve always believed that music is more than a form of entertainment," he said. "It's a cultural, economic and social force that brings people \[together\] from all walks of life."

One of the most emotionally stirring moments of the evening came when Todd Dupler, Acting Chief Advocacy &amp; Public Policy Officer for the Recording Academy, introduced Dr. Ahmad Naser Sarmast, the founder and director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), Ministry of Education of Afghanistan.

In August 2021, Sarmast put his life on the line to help the Afghanistan National Institute of Music escape after the Taliban seized control of his embattled country and banned all non-religious music. "We are here to celebrate the beauty of music," he said. "In Afghanistan, the people are deprived of their music."

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Rose then returned to the stage for a rousing rendition of her anthemic "What Are We Fighting For," from her 2021 album *Have a Seat*. While the thrust of the lyrics is a lover’s quarrel, the song felt apropos to the spirit of GRAMMYs On The Hill, where leading political minds reach across aisles for the greater good of our universal language. Upon her exhortation for the audience to join her in the revelry, a number of high-profile attendees, like House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), followed suit.

This year, the GRAMMYs On The Hill Awards, sponsored by City National Bank, benefited the [GRAMMY Museum](https://grammymuseum.org/); as such, Museum President and CEO Michael Sticka took the stage to tout the institution’s crucial work on historical, curatorial and educational programs and initiatives. (Linda Duncombe, the executive vice president and chief marketing, data and digital officer of City National Bank and a member of the Museum’s Board of Directors, made a brief onstage appearance as well.)

Singer/songwriter [JP Saxe](https://www.grammy.com/artists/jp-saxe/287491) then gave the ceremony another dollop of soul, as he sat behind a keyboard and performed "If The World Was Ending," originally a GRAMMY-nominated duet with [Julia Michaels](https://www.grammy.com/artists/julia-michaels/188121).

After an introduction from Recording Academy President Panay, [Tarriona "Tank" Ball](https://www.grammy.com/artists/tarriona-ball/251641) — of [Tank and the Bangas](https://www.grammy.com/artists/tank-and-bangas/252137) fame — appeared to tout the American musical tradition that birthed New Orleans artistry; in such, she stressed the primacy of *freedom*. A video played spotlighting Sen. Cassidy’s work in the roots music capital, as he fights to sustain music small businesses, champions the [Music Modernization Act](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/issues-policy/music-modernization-act), and assisted ANIM in their safe evacuation out of Afghanistan.

The night was winding up to [Pharrell Williams](https://www.grammy.com/artists/pharrell-williams/7310)’ big honor. [Tobe Nwigwe](https://www.grammy.com/artists/tobe-nwigwe/52021), a rapper and star on the Netflix series "Mo" who was [nominated for a GRAMMY for Best New Artist in 2023](https://www.grammy.com/news/best-new-artist-2023-grammy-nominations-65th-grammys-awards), performed a rolling, flowing song especially for the man of the hour. That was "In the Water" – a reference to Williams’ Something in the Water festival, which returned to his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia, the following weekend.

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Right then, Williams himself — a 13-time GRAMMY winner who looms large in innumerable spheres of American music, from rap to pop to R&amp;B — stepped onstage to receive the GRAMMYs On The Hill’s Creator Leadership Award presented to him by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr.

"I’ve been incredibly lucky in my career as a musician," he said. "But there are a ton of my brothers and sisters that are just like starting out. And even some that have been in the game for a very long time that haven't had the same advantages.

"The worth of these musicians needs to be protected," Williams continued. "I think it’s a very beautiful thing that our government is shining a light and giving visibility to the struggle \[experienced by\] us as musicians."

The evening concluded with a masterful performance by Tank and four-time GRAMMY winner and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient [Nile Rodgers](https://www.grammy.com/artists/nile-rodgers/15233), who performed a luminous version of [Daft Punk](https://www.grammy.com/artists/daft-punk/8207)’s ["Get Lucky"](https://www.grammy.com/news/daft-punk-essential-songs-edm-thomas-bangalter-random-access-memories-pharrell-williams-weeknd-grammys) — a modern classic that gave the veteran funk and disco legend a career boost as he fought for his life.

"At the time, I was suffering from cancer," he reflected from the stage, remembering the time when they created the song together. "As I stand here, getting ready to pay tribute to my brother with that song we wrote 10 years ago, I am still cancer-free." (*Huge* applause.)

As the years roll on, the fight for creators’ rights will continue, and the Recording Academy will remain a trusted champion for creators of all levels across the full spectrum of the music industry, advancing important music policy issues to the forefront. And GRAMMYs On The Hill will once again step up to meet every challenge and celebrate those leading the charge along the way.

But one thing was certain as this year’s honors wound down: As a music community, that night, we *all* gained ground.

[Recording Academy And U.S. Congress Leaders Announce The Reintroduction Of The Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act, Leading The Federal Effort To Limit The Use of Song Lyrics In Court And Legal Cases](https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/restoring-artistic-protection-rap-act-reintroduction-grammys-hill-goth-2023)