A quote attributed to former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill suggests that democracy is actually the worst form of government, except for all the others.
It's a depressing version of the political gold standard, but the full quote adds more nuance. Churchill said that when the people elect ministers and express their needs to them, those in power are trained, guided and controlled as servants of the people, not as their masters.
The folks in the multi-billion dollar lobbying industry couldn't agree more.
Down the lobbying rabbit hole
At this very moment, a GoFundMe Campaign thrown by him Conceptual Art Association has the primary goal of raising $270,000. The campaign hopes to pay a lobbyist $187,500 to "educate government officials and lawmakers" about a new threat to the creative industries: AI-generated artwork.
As of this writing, the campaign has raised $203,300, enough to keep a lobbyist for an entire year. The Concept Art Association says some of the money will go to the Copyright Alliance, which already lobby the government on behalf of its own members. Some recently expressed worries that AI-generated works conflict with copyright law.
RIAA lobbying: AI, DMCA, hacking and more
Other members of the Copyright Alliance include the RIAA, which recently reported on several AI-powered music mixing platforms to the United States Trade Representative, in the hope that they will be listed as next threats in the USTR's 'Notorious Markets' report.
According to a 2022 lobbying disclosure report, RIAA lobbyists raised AI as an issue with the government. Other topics included the Notorious Markets report, intellectual property 'theft' in general, IP enforcement, DMCA-related issues and proposals related to technical measures, also known as content filtering.
According to Open Secret data Covering the period from January 2022 to late September 2022, the RIAA appeared in 15 government lobbying reports with a total reported lobbying spend (covered by its associates) of nearly $5.4 million.
The last time the RIAA spent more was in 2018 and before that, in 2011.
Pfizer (17), Intel (18) and Comcast (18) appeared in more copyright, patent and trademark lobbying reports than the RIAA. None could match the 24 reports that prompted PHRMPharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, at the top of the lobbying list, but in third place in general, the AMP was not too far.
MPA Lobbying โ From Copyright to Z
According to reports compiled by Open Secrets, the MPA pressed on 22 separate issues between January and late September 2022.
Copyright, patent and trademark reports included the MPA ten times, Commerce seven times, with Defense, Emergency and Disaster Planning and Immigration adding two each.
Specific lobbying issues included illegal transmission devices, technological protection measures, right to remedy, voluntary initiatives regarding content protection, and other Internet-related: domain names, ICANN liability, WHOIS, and domain abuse.
The MPA sent lobbyists to the Executive Office of the President, the Department of State, the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, the House of Representatives, the National Security Council, and the Senate.
The Department of Commerce also appears in connection with the MPA's efforts to weave piracy problems into the cybersecurity order.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative appears in several reports, at least in part tied to the MPA's Special 301 and Notorious Markets. shipments. In fact, no other entity in the United States appeared in more USTR-Related Lobbying Reports than the MAP.
Overall, lobbying spending of $2.57 million was attributed to MPA members, about half of the RIAA's $5.4 million. Both fielded 32 lobbyists each and, as always, the 'revolving door' was in full effect.
the revolving door
When government regulators, congressional staff, or individual members of Congress take on new jobs with lobbying firms or private sector organizations (in some cases, the ones they used to oversee), Open Secrets lists those people as "revolvers." The term also covers 'reverse revolvers': people who leave the private sector to work in government.
Of the 32 lobbyists deployed by the MPA, 71.88% (23) are listed as revolvers. Of the 32 lobbyists deployed by the RIAA, 78.13% (25) received the same label.
RIAA President and CEO Mitch Glazier previously served as Senior Intellectual Property Counsel to the US House Judiciary Committee and, according to his bio, "has worked on every bill of significant copyrights considered in the last three decades".
RIAA COO Michele Ballantyne previously worked as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton, while content protection director Brad Buckles was director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ( ATF).
MPA President and CEO Charles Rivkin served as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs. Patrick Kilcur, Executive Vice President of US Government Affairs, served in the US Senate and was named "top lobbyist" by The Hill in 2018 and 2019.
Income and Taxes
The RIAA reported revenue of $28,132,459 in 2020, less than half of the MPAs $62,895,695. Since 1953 and 1950, respectively, both the RIAA and the MPA have enjoyed tax exemption.
The MPA still pressured the government in tax issues in 2022 because, frankly, it would be crazy not to, especially given the competition abroad these days.
It's a bit of a complex system for ordinary people to understand, but when the film industry pay less taxpartly thanks to schemes like theseNot only are more movies being made, but ordinary taxpayers have the opportunity to help finance movies, pay to see them when they are released, and pay sales tax on top of that.
