Posts by Marco Foley

Indie music creators led by SGA, SCL and MCNA demand fairness in generative AI industry negotiations

June 10, 2025

Music week in NYC kicks off with a bang. The Songwriters Guild of America, the Society of Composers & Lyricists, and Music Creators North America (led respectively by music creators Rick Carnes, Ashley Irwin and Eddie Schwartz), have released a statement kicking off Music Week in New York asserting that the songwriter and composer community…

U.S. Copyright Office panel report: “The awesome soft-power of American music”

April 29, 2025

On April 29, 2025, MCNA co-chair Ashley Irwin and board member Charles J. Sanders traveled to Washington DC to join a World IP Day panel at the US House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Titled “The journey of music: from the human heart to the human ear”, the panel was hosted by the The Copyright Alliance…

An important heads-up for all composers and songwriters regarding Gen AI “training”

April 22, 2025

This is an important heads-up for all composers and songwriters regarding the licensing of your musical compositions to “train” Gen AI It has recently come to the attention of Music Creators North America (MCNA), the Society of Composers & Lyricists and (SCL), the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) that you may have recently been contacted…

New U.S. Chamber Report Reveals IP Boosts U.S. Economy, Drives Job Growth

April 9, 2025

It’s popular amongst some champions of the often misinterpreted “fair use” doctrine to refer to copyright as some type of tax. An outdated system that stifles creation. We should remember however that copyright was developed specifically to drive innovation, creativity and culture by allowing creators to be fairly paid for their work. It’s encouraging to…

Comments to Government: AI Action Plan

March 16, 2025

Regarding the Executive Order 14179 Issued On January 23, 2025 by President Donald J. Trump titled: “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence”1 Submitted Pursuant to Federal Register Notice 90 FR 90882 (Request for Information) by: The Songwriters Guild of America, the Society of Composers & Lyricists, and the United States’ affiliate members of…

Global economic study shows human creators’ future at risk from generative AI

December 4, 2024

CISAC has released the first global study measuring the economic impact of Generative AI in the music and audiovisual sectors. The report details how GenAI will enrich tech companies while substantially jeopardising the income of human creators in the next five years.

MCNA joins NYS legal panel on foreign music publishing and neighboring rights

November 4, 2024

On Friday 1 November, MCNA board member, Charlie Sanders, participated in New York State Bar Association’s panel on foreign music publishing and neighboring rights. Representing MCNA, the Songwriters Guild of America and Fair Trade Music International, Charlie was joined by colleagues Neeta Ragoowansi of Women in Music, Ernst Bakker of Zanoise and Peer Music’s Neville…

The 2024 Fair Trade Music International Awards

MCNA partner announces recipients of 2024 FTMI awards for outstanding contribution to music creator rights

October 28, 2024

Teresa Parodi and Satoshi Watanabe are recipients of the FTMI Award for outstanding contribution to music creator rights in 2024. 28 October 2024 – Montréal, Canada: Fair Trade Music International (FTMI) has announced Argentinean songwriter and inaugural minister for culture, Teresa Parodi, and Japanese creators’ rights advocate, Satoshi Watanabe, as recipients of the 2024 FTMI…

“Taylor’s Guitar”: An essay on creative freedom by Charles Sanders

October 25, 2024

MCNA board member, Charlie Sanders, recently published a guest post on the Trichordist website regarding the freedom to create and the lessons we can draw from history. The text is reproduced below with Charlie’s kind permission. Recently, a viral video originating from Waxahachie, Texas made the social media rounds featuring the winning bidder of a…

MCNA heads to Washington to campaign for protection of music creator rights against GenAI

October 11, 2024

Representatives of Music Creators North America, the Songwriters Guild of America and the Society of Composers & Lyricists, were out in force this week in Washington, DC. Whether on the Hill, at the US Copyright Office, or before the US Patent and Trademark Office, the message was made clear: for the sake of American musical…