"I feel the arts are very necessary for any student or any young person to grow up and be able to have a voice" —Latin GRAMMY-nominated artist Manu Manzo, Conversations in Advocacy #46

Keeping the future of the music industry healthy and fair takes work. Throughout the year, the Recording Academy advocates tirelessly on behalf of music creators, and guess what—it works. Case in point: just two month ago the President signed the Music Modernization Act into law, marking a historic moment in music legislation. The landmark bill made comprehensive copyright reform a reality, closing loopholes in our digital royalty laws to ensure songwriters, artists and producers are compensated fairly when their work is used by digital and satellite music services.

But change of this magnitude doesn't happen alone, and it doesn't happen overnight. Pushing the MMA through Congress took bipartisan support and a groundswell of rallying in the music world from thousands of performers, songwriters and studio professionals. Recording Academy members raise their voices together during GRAMMYs On The Hill each spring and District Advocate in the fall, meeting with their lawmakers to speak with them about the issues affecting their livelihoods.

One shining example, On Oct. 24 members of the Recording Academy's Florida Chapter rallied on District Advocate Day, joining more than 1,500 of their fellow members in raising their voices on music policy issues. The passion of everyone present was evident at the Florida Chapter rally, and the importance of creating and preserving a fair system to foster the future was front-and-center.

Today, this year's crop of GRAMMY nominees were revealed with the official announcement of the 61st GRAMMY Awards nominations. This joyous moment for many of today's finest music creators serves as a celebratory reminder of how much music means to our culture and how crucial our efforts as a music community are to have our voices heard.

Celebrating District Advocate Day Engagement & Looking Ahead

"Conversations in Advocacy" is your weekend digital tip sheet on music advocacy and the policies that affect music makers and their craft. New installments post every Friday.