Between 1978 and 1988, Dianne Feinstein served as the first female mayor of San Francisco — and her star would only rise from there.\
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Feinstein served a groundbreaking tenure in the Senate as the first woman elected to her position from California, where she remained an influential voice between 1992 and her death in 2023, at age 90. \
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Upon her death on Sept. 29, The New York Times rightly called Feinstein "the grande dame of California Democrats." And one component of her voluminous legacy is her fight for music people's rights worldwide.\
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In memory of Feinstein, here's a brief breakdown of such moments in her Senatorial career.\
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She Was Honored At GRAMMYs on the Hill
In 2006, the Recording Academy recognized Senator Feinstein as a recipient of its GRAMMYs on the Hill Award alongside three-time GRAMMY winner Kelly Clarkson. The Senator was honored due to her "work to improve the environment for music makers and artists."
She Supported The Music Modernization Act And ART Act
These are two key pieces of music legislation that became law thanks to Senator Feinstein's tireless support.
Signed into law in 2018, the Music Modernization Act was the biggest update to music law in decades modernizing the copyright law to make music licensing more fair for all music creators.
The Artist's Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005, or ART Act, was part of the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 and halted copyright infringement of musical works and sound recordings, among other forms of intellectual property. \
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She Championed Performing Rights
Senator Feinstein was an original sponsor to the Performance Rights Act of 2009. This bill was crafted to ensure artists are fairly paid for their work by establishing a performance right for sound recordings on terrestrial (AM/FM) radio. Her leadership on this issue helped ignite what has become over a decade-long effort to ensure artists are compensated for their work.. As the fight for performing rights continues, Senator Feinstein was a supporter and leader on every iteration of the bill since 2009. Most recently, she was an original sponsor of the American Music Fairness Act, which was re-introduced by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) on Feb. 2, 2023.
She Co-Sponsored The HITS Act\
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The Help Independent Tracks Succeed Act, or HITS Act — which the Recording Academy helped craft — would modify current U.S. tax law to allow independent artists to deduct 100% of their production costs on new recordings upfront.
By working with Tennessee lawmakers on the HITS Act and co-sponsoring the Senate version of the bill, Feinstein, once again, proved herself to be an ally of the music community.
"Because most large, public gatherings have been prohibited since the pandemic began, musicians and music producers have been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus," Feinstein said in a statement announcing the legislation. "Our bill would provide relief by allowing independent musicians, technicians and producers to deduct their production expenses in the same year they occur, rather than forcing them to spread those deductions out over several years.\
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"This is in line with how expenses are treated for film, television and theater productions," Feinstein continued, "and it makes sense to create parity for music productions."
The Recording Academy mourns the loss of Feinstein, and celebrates her invaluable contributions to music legislation as the Senator from California.
