The Recording Academy Aligns Advocacy, Member Services Divisions

The Recording Academy has restructured to align its Advocacy and Member Services divisions. The alignment creates a larger unit focused on supporting the music community to become involved in creator issues. Academy members will now benefit from additional opportunities to shape the music community, while The Recording Academy will enhance its ability to activate its membership in grassroots advocacy efforts.

Nancy Shapiro, who previously led the Member Services group, has been appointed to lead high-priority Academy initiatives across all divisions as the Senior Vice President of Special Projects.

Daryl P. Friedman, who has led the Academy’s advocacy work on Capitol Hill for more than a decade, has been promoted to the newly created position of Chief Industry, Government & Member Relations Officer. In his role, Friedman also developed the GRAMMY Creators Alliance, a high profile coalition of leading artists, songwriters, and producers; GRAMMYs in my District, a grassroots nationwide advocacy day; and the Managers’ Think Tank, a brain trust of leading music managers.

“There are inherent synergies between our Member Services and Advocacy groups,” said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow. “For 30 years, Nancy has grown the Academy’s presence through her work in launching many of its chapters and establishing professional development programs for local music makers. This evolution builds upon Nancy’s work by providing our members a conduit to shape the future of the industry for the collective good of the music community.

“Daryl is an industry veteran who started at the chapter level, so he not only understands how to serve the needs of our local music communities, but his experience working with other leaders in the industry and lawmakers on the hill enable him to bridge an important gap by elevating the voices of local members to the national level,” continued Portnow.

The Academy plans to work closely with members at each of the Academy’s 12 regional chapters to help elevate music rights issues and educate lawmakers on the professional lives and challenges of the music makers in their districts.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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