Remember the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act (AB 2799), the California bill which was created to protect the First Amendment Rights of artists and stop the use of an artist's lyrics or creative expressions as evidence during criminal and civil proceedings?
The California State Senate just passed it — unanimously, after the California General Assembly did the same earlier this year. The bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk to be signed into law in the coming days.
For the Recording Academy, the legislation has been a priority of their ongoing advocacy efforts this year. While the bill is California-specific, it has the potential to set an example for the rest of the nation and mirrors other efforts already underway such as the federal RAP Act — which the Academy has also been closely involved with.
"Not having this legislation has allowed people to utilize people's creativity and lyrics against them when we know that's not fair," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. recently said. "I don't think anybody in the studio when they're in their cars in their garage or when they're writing music, they shouldn't be thinking about, 'Is this going to be something that I shouldn't say in art and music?'"
"We should be able to express ourselves," Mason continued. "We should be able to say things that are on our minds and our hearts or in our imaginations without fear of somebody bringing this up in a courtroom."
To summarize the California bill, AB 2799 will protect artists from having their creative expression used against them as evidence in a criminal trial. The use of creative expression, specifically rap lyrics, in criminal proceedings has been an ongoing issue since the early 1990s.
➡️ If you're a resident of #California who is also a music fan or artist, help ensure the creative expression of Black artists and future music creators remains protected by supporting the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act: https://t.co/2tezMz5QEl pic.twitter.com/295TduPg6x
— GRAMMY Advocacy (@GRAMMYAdvocacy) August 17, 2022
There have been hundreds of cases where rap lyrics have been used to build criminal cases against artists, claiming that aggressive or violent lyrics are indicative of an artist's behavior.
But AB 2799 is about more than just rap lyrics. Music, literature, film, and all works of creative expression should be protected by the First Amendment.
The legislation is a modest and common-sense bill that will limit the use of creative expression as evidence in a trial and help protect artists and creators from unfair bias. It ensures that all artists are able to express themselves freely without fear of reprisal from the justice system simply because of the content of their art or because of biases held against their chosen art form.
AB 2799 is the first legislation of its kind to pass a state legislature and head to a Governor to become law. A similar bill was considered in New York earlier this year and will likely be reintroduced in 2023. And at the federal level, the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act was introduced in July by Reps. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).
The Academy will continue to advocate to ensure AB 2799 is signed into law and to advance the RAP Act in Congress. Watch this space for more news on both fronts, and to keep up with Recording Academy Advocacy's fight for the rights of all music creators.
