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Wow! Today my guest is superstar music attorney Dina LaPolt. If you don’t know who she is, she is one of the most well respected, well known music attorneys in the world. The amount of awards she has is unfathomable: Hollywood Reporter, Billboard’s Power 100, Variety, MIDEM, Recording Academy, GRAMMYs. She’s also been the attorney for 2Pac‘s estate, deadmau5, 21 Savage, Britney Spears, and Steven Tyler.
She co-founded Songwriters of North America (SONA) in 2015. They’re an advocacy organization representing songwriters. She was also instrumental in getting the Music Modernization Act passed in 2018, which has done wonders for songwriters and artists across the board. The Music Modernization Act was the first major update to copyright law in decades. She regularly advocates for artists, musicians, and songwriters on Capitol Hill.
This conversation was fiery. We got into it. I told the challenges that independent artists and songwriters are dealing with and how we rarely get a seat at the table. When drafting new laws, independent musicians need a seat at the table. Dina also talked about what she did with the CARES Act. She made sure musicians and songwriters were included in the CARES Act and HEROES Act. Additionally, she made sure that a mixed earners stipulation was added in the follow-up bill. She described what she’s working on right now with the new Administration to make sure that musicians and songwriters don’t get left behind.
Dina is an absolute rockstar on the business and overall. It was such a pleasure and honor to have her on the show. I know you’re gonna love this conversation. She does not hold back!
Quick links:
4:57 – About the CARES Act
10:55 – Dina breaks down the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and where it’s at now
21:35 – Major music publishers like UMPG always get the best deal while smaller independent artists get screwed
26:58 – What is the solution from the Copyright Office? What is the ask from the music industry?
39:45 – About the Music Licensing Collective (MLC) and how it functions
43:56 – How politics gets involved in music activism (and how to communicate with Republicans and Democrats)
49:06 – What it means to Dina LaPolt to make it in the new music business
Get involved:
Songwriters of North America (SONA): https://www.wearesona.com/
Music Artists Coalition (MAC): https://www.musicartistscoalition.com/
Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC): https://www.bmacoalition.org/
(A2IM): https://a2im.org/
