Until his surprising defeat in the 2018 Democratic Primary Election to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joe Crowley spent 20 years in Congress representing a working class section of Queens, New York. Today, he’s in the National Capital Region, settling into his first month as Chairman of musicFIRST — a lobbying group described by The Recording Academy as “a coalition that fights for fairness and equity for music creators.”
To say Crowley hit the ground running is perhaps an understatement. Just days after his appointment, he was Tweeting about how “it’s past time to pay artists for their work.” Now comes the introduction of the American Music Fairness Act — crafted in part with Crowley’s input.
In an exclusive interview, Crowley shares why this bill’s introduction is important, and how it differs from multiple failed attempts in recent years to get Congress to pass a radio royalty proposal.
