(CelebrityAccess) – Songwriter Sue Ennis and singer Lalah Hathaway have been named co-chairs of the Recording Academy’s national advocacy committee, the organization announced Tuesday (Sept. 10). This is Hathaway’s second time on the committee and first as co-chair; Ennis served as co-chair in 2017, while it is her third time on the committee.
Ennis and Hathaway will join fellow committee members Claudia Brant, Terry Jones, Emily Lazar, Rico Love and Harvey Mason Jr., who also chairs the Recording Academy’s board of trustees and co-chaired the advocacy committee last term alongside saxophonist/vocalist Mindi Abair. Academy president and CEO Deborah Dugan will serve as ex-officio member along with chief industry, government and member relations officer, advocacy and membership Daryl Friedman.
“Music is the most consumed medium. From your morning drive to the music in the elevator, the music from your favorite show or movie, that playlist when you need a pick-me-up, it surrounds us. As music consumption continues to increase, and the platforms in which we engage with it evolve, we need to have advocacy to protect all the music creators behind those songs,” said Mason Jr. in a statement. “The Recording Academy’s Advocacy Committee is the voice for those creators across the nation — artists, songwriters, producers, engineers, and musicians – to make sure they have a seat at the table and their voices are heard when laws impacting their music are made.”
This is the first new committee to convene since the Music Modernization Act (MMA) was signed into law last October.
