Legislation is pending in Albany that would provide a tax credit for music that is created and produced in New York. The legislation was conceived by Brooklyn Assemblyman Joe Lentol, and is championed by a coalition called New York is Music. The National Music Council supports the measure, and encourages the music community – especially those residing in NY State – to demonstrate to Assemblyman Lentol and the coalition that we are with them. Sound your voice on this important issue. Join the coalition at http://p2a.co/hycLNat or by texting MUSIC to 52886. For further information, visit the links below:
NY Times piece — http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/business/media/music-industry-pushes-for-ny-tax-credits-like-film-industrys.html?_r=0
Lentol press release — http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Joseph-R-Lentol/story/60250/
Current draft of legislation — http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/A1465-2015
The National Music Council and the Music Publishers Association are looking for students to creatively present their viewpoints, in video format, on “The Importance of Intellectual Property and Copyright Law”.
Here are some questions you might want to think about when making your submission:
Who does copyright protect? Why is it important to protect intellectual property? What would the world be like if there were no protections for intellectual property? Why do you think people ignore copyright laws? What can other students learn from watching your video?
You can submit online by using the following form:
http://mpaoftheusa.coffeecup.com/forms/2015%20Copyright%20Awareness%20Scholarship
You can see previous winners on our YouTube channel here: http://youtube.com/MPAofUSA
Please read the complete rules below. Questions regarding the scholarship can be directed to scholarship@mpa.org.
OFFICIAL RULES OF THE NMC COPYRIGHT AWARENESS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
SPONSORED BY THE MPA
1. ELIGIBILITY: The NMC Copyright Awareness Scholarship Program Sponsored by the MPA for 2013 is open only to those legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia and individuals currently studying in one of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia pursuant to a valid F-1 Student Visa who are between thirteen (13) and twenty-five (25) years of age at the time of application and who are currently enrolled in an accredited secondary school or post-secondary institution of higher learning (college, university or trade school). Students must supply contact of school official so that enrollment can be confirmed.
Current employees, officers, directors and agents of Sponsor and their immediate family members (defined as spouse, parents, siblings and children) are not eligible to win.
2. HOW TO ENTER: To enter, beginning February 1, 2015 go to www.mpa.org and follow the instructions for completing the Application and uploading your Submission.
Applications must be submitted by Sunday, June 15, 2015 no later than 11:59 PM EST. No exceptions will be made to submit past this deadline.
Limit one (1) Application and Submission per person. Written, pictorial, audio or video responses that are obscene, pornographic, defamatory or otherwise objectionable will be disqualified. All Applications and Submissions become the property of the Sponsor and will not be returned. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for lost, late, misdirected, or unintelligible entries. By submitting an Application and Submission, you fully and unconditionally accept and agree to these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding.
The NMC and MPA are looking for students to creatively present their viewpoints, in VIDEO format, on The Importance of Intellectual Property and Copyright Law. All submissions must consist primarily of original material. If a submission contains copyrighted material (e.g., a song, a video clip) owned by another party, please submit evidence of permission to use that material. Submissions that contain copyrighted material but which do not include such evidence of permission to use that material will be automatically disqualified.
*Videos must be in .mp4, .m4v, mov, or .wmv formats. Other formats will not be accepted.
*Files must be 4MB or less.
*Videos should be between thirty (30) seconds and three (3) minutes.
*Winners must be able to supply a high quality version of their video.
*Files uploaded must contain the name of the student.
Examples: jennifer_smith.m4v, john_harris.mov, jim_ellis_pirate_party.wmv. If files are not named appropriately they will not be viewed.
3. SELECTION OF POTENTIAL WINNERS: Sponsor is looking for Submissions that are well-constructed and clearly and creatively address the topic. On or about June 16, 2015, a qualified panel of judges will select three (3) potential winners. Winner we be notified by the end of July, 2015.
4. PUBLICITY: By submitting an Application and Submission, Applicant (or, if a minor, his/her parent or legal guardian) agrees that Sponsor may, without any limitation or further compensation or notice, use his or her name, voice and/or likeness in any and all media, worldwide, for the purpose of advertising and promoting the Website, the Sponsor, the Scholarship Program, or any other promotion, contest or sweepstakes of the Sponsor.
5. OWNERSHIP: By submitting an Application and Submission, Applicant (or, if a minor, his/her parent or legal guardian) grants to Sponsor a worldwide perpetual non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, distribute and exploit the material submitted, including the worldwide copyright and any extensions, renewals, revivals, reversions and restorations thereof, for any educational, promotional or other non-commercial purpose. Applicant further agrees that Sponsor and its designees may edit and modify the Submission and all elements of it in any and all media now known or not currently known, throughout the world in perpetuity without compensation, permission or notification to Applicant or any third party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Applicant shall be entitled to terminate the license granted to Sponsor hereunder upon written notice to Sponsor after a period of five (5) years from the date Applicant submits the Application and Submission.
6. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES/INDEMNIFICATION: Each person who enters this Scholarship Program represents and warrants to Sponsor as follows: (i) the Application and Submission, including any written, pictorial, audio and/or video content are the Applicant’s own original, previously unpublished, and previously unproduced work (except for any copyrighted material owned by third parties as to which all necessary permission to use such material has been obtained) and, as of the date of submission, are not the subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim; (ii) the Application and Submission, including any written, pictorial, audio and/or video content, neither infringes upon nor violates the intellectual property rights or other rights of any other person or entity; (iii) the Application and Submission, including any written, pictorial, audio, and/or video content, does not and will not violate any applicable laws, and meets the Official Rules set forth herein. Each Applicant hereby agrees to indemnify and hold the Sponsor harmless from and against any and all third party claims, actions or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses relating to or arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties, representations or agreements of Applicant hereunder.
7. NO OBLIGATION TO USE: Sponsor shall have no obligation (express or implied) to use any winning Submission, or to otherwise exploit a winning Submission or continue the development, production, distribution or exploitation thereof, and Sponsor may at any time abandon the use of the winning Submission for any reason, with or without legal justification or excuse, and the Scholarship prize recipients shall not be entitled to any damages or other relief by reason thereof.
8. LIST OF SCHOLARSHIP PRIZE RECIPIENTS: The names of the Scholarship prize recipients and their winning Submissions may be posted on Sponsor’s Websites.
9. SPONSOR: The NMC Copyright Awareness Scholarship is sponsored by The Music Publishers Association of the United States and the National Music Council (NMC).
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On January 13th the Music Education Policy Roundtable, a coalition of likeminded organizations and institutions, advocating for high quality music education in America’s schools, identified its legislative priorities for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The Music Education Policy Roundtable has outlined these priorities for Congress: To create policies and teaching environments that give all students access to a well-rounded education which includes high quality instruction in music.
With the goal of soliciting bipartisan support to accomplish these goals on behalf of all students across America, the Music Education Policy Roundtable has identified five key areas of prioritization in this reauthorization:
I. STRENGTHENED STATUS: In order to strengthen the importance of music education in the law, for purposes of both garnering state-level funding and other forms of support, we ask that Congress maintain the core academic subject section in any reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
II. INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY: In order to ensure that even the most disadvantaged students have access to high quality music education programs no matter their personal circumstance or background, we ask that Congress strengthen language throughout any reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act so that it increases clarity as to the availability of such resources for use in this regard.
III. EQUITABLE TEACHER EVALUATION: In order to ensure that music educators are always evaluated by qualified individuals utilizing reliable measures germane to their discipline of study, and to make certain that ultimate accountability for all such measures is directly attributable to music teachers themselves, we ask that Congress offer language in any reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, recommending the institutionalizing of this practice.
IV. BALANCED ACCOUNTABILITY: In order to ensure that, in making school district accountability determinations, “well-rounded” factors, such as achievement in music, are considered, in addition to state assessment results in reading/language arts and mathematics, we ask that Congress recognize the reliability of such multiple measures of performance, in developing corresponding State plans, in any reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
V. ENHANCED TEACHER PREPARATION: In order to ensure that all federal granting opportunities for purposes of preparing, training, and recruiting high quality teachers and principals include a measure of consideration as to the importance of high quality music and arts education delivery abilities, we ask that Congress insert further clarifying language in any reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The National Music Council is a member of the Music Education Policy Roundtable. For more information on the Roundtable and its legislative agenda, including the specific requests as they relate to ESEA Reauthorization, please visit the Roundtable’s website (http://www.nafme.org/take- action/music-education-policy- roundtable/).
The NMC board is requesting that member organizations promote our new, innovative education tool for primary school students designed to teach respect and admiration for creators, inventors and their works.
The program was created by the National Music Council and Music Publishers’ Association to teach young students the consequences of disrespecting the rights of creators, and how activity such as appropriating the work of others without permission negatively impacts creators and stifles creativity in general.
The lesson plan, video, and educational extension activities are available via a free website at: http://www.IMadeIt.org. The 2:30 Emmy Award winning PSA is also available by clicking HERE!.
The NMC is requesting members to post a link and/or article on their organization website and in member magazines that feature the classroom teaching tools and the PSA. We need members to help get the word out and believe that the issue is of interest to your membership, as it affects the entire creative and educational communities.
You can find an article on the program, the press release announcing the Emmy Award, and view the award winning video and teaching tools at the National Music Council Website at www.musiccouncil.org.
Please let NMC know of your willingness to disseminate this information by contacting the NMC office at (973) 655-7974, or via email at Sandersd@montclair.edu.
The NMC and MPA have announced the winners of the 2014 Copyright Awareness Scholarship for creative videos that engage students in copyright and intellectual property protection. The scholarship award was introduced in 2010 by the Music Publishers Association. Joining with other educational outreach organizations like the National Music Council and the National Association for Music Education, the MPA has awarded more than $50,000 in funds.
The winners are:
1st prize: Sean Musaeus of Portland, Oregon:
Sean Musaeus is a Sophomore at Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon. While he has yet to declare his major, he’s been focusing on music and biology but also has interests in photography, filmmaking and fiction-writing.
2nd prize: Inioluwa Oguntola of Fayetteville, New York:
Inioluwa Oguntola is a senior at Manlius Pebble High School in Fayetteville, New York. He plans to study engineering in the fall, though he hasn’t settled on where he will head for school.
3rd prize: Sunny Yang of Chicago, Illinois:
Sunny Yang is a college junior at the Illinois Institute of Technology studying marketing business, marketing and advertising.
We would also like to extend a round of applause to our honorable mention students Matthew Randall, Thomas Phelan and Josiah Brown. We are sure all of these students have a bright future ahead of them in the fields they wish to pursue.
Judges were extremely impressed with the creativity that this year’s students brought to the table, and commend all of the brave students who told us why copyright and intellectual property is important. .
About the Music Publishers Association
Founded in 1895, the Music Publishers Association is the oldest music trade organization in the United States, fostering communication among publishers, dealers, music educators, and all ultimate users of music.
This non-profit association addresses itself to issues pertaining to every area of music publishing with an emphasis on the issues relevant to the publishers of print music for concert and educational purposes.
The National Music Council will be promoting its I Made It… Please Don’t Steal It copyright education tools at the National Association for Music Education conference in Nashville on October 26-29. We invite and encourage you to stop by our booth!
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ADVOCACY ACTION: Sign the NAfME / Change.org petition to Department of Education and Congress: “You say music is a core subject, it’s time your policies reflect that.”
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The Music Education Policy Roundtable, of which NMC is a member, has drafted the following letter to the 114th Congress. We encourage everyone to support these policies by writing letters of their own to legislators.
Dear Senator/Representative:
On the eve of the 114th Congress, and with the state of our nation’s prekindergarten-12th schools ever in the forefront of the minds of voters and candidates, we ask that you make classroom music education a priority in any legislation pertaining to education—from preschool development funding to reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
The Music Education Policy Roundtable, a coalition of 30 organizations standing together to promote music education for every U.S. student, uphold the following status for music education and seven legislative priorities:
- Core Status: In order to ensure that all students receive a comprehensive education including sequential, standards-based music education as part of the core curriculum, we ask that Congress maintain the status of the arts as a core academic subject in any reauthorization of the ESEA.
- Evaluation: Congress and the U.S. Department of Education should offer guidance language recommending that music educators be evaluated on how well their students learn and achieve in their respective disciplines. Accountability for any and all such measures of evaluation should be directly attributable to certified music teachers. New evaluation systems should be developed in the context of the number of students being taught and instructional time available, limiting the use of data to reliable measures. Likewise, observation-based teacher evaluations should be limited to those conducted by individuals with expertise in music education.
- Research: Congress should mandate that the U.S. Department of Education develop and carry out the process of collecting and disseminating federal data pursuant to the status of music education programs in order to generally benefit the field, and to assist organizations working to accurately gauge the landscape and provide support to educators in areas of the country where music education is threatened.
- Accountability: Congress should include in any re-authorization of the ESEA, accountability provisions that include a measure of and for student achievement in music, to be implemented in a manner that ensures fairness to all students.
- Funding: Congress should ensure that all appropriate federal funding streams authorized under the ESEA, particularly Title I monies, are made available for purposes of teaching music and for music education teacher training.
- Accessibility: Congress and the U.S. Department of Education should offer language acknowledging the nationwide trend of reduced school day time for music education programs, and recommending that this trend be reversed, via an increased focus on the delivery of comprehensive curricula of learning.
- Charter Schools: The U.S. Department of Education should offer guidance language to those involved in the development and administration of public charter schools, recommending that curricular decisions be made with an eye toward providing all students with a comprehensive education, including music taught by certified educators.
- Early Childhood Education: Congress should ensure that all appropriate federal funding for early childhood education, including but not limited to those funds made available under Head Start, Early Head Start, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant, as well as any proposed legislation, is made available for early music education and for purposes of early music education teacher training. Further, Congress and the U.S. Department of Education should issue guidance language clarifying the availability of funds under such programs for the purpose of early music education.
Please keep these priorities in mind as you clarify your positions on educational priorities during election season, and when you return to Capitol Hill in January. Our nation’s progress depends on the success of our students, and we know music education is a critical component of a complete education, preparing students for the 21st century workforce. Will you stand with us in these commitments to music education? We look forward to your statement of support.
Click here for more information about the Music Education Policy Roundtable.
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