Copyright Alliance Announces Two Newly Elected At-Large Board Members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:

Washington, DC—The Copyright Alliance is pleased to announce two new At-Large Board Members whose terms commenced on January 1, 2024: Shannon Sorensen of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), who will serve for a second consecutive term; and Dr. Richard James Burgess of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM). Both Shannon and Richard will be serving two-year terms.

In her statement about serving a second Board term, Shannon noted, “I’m honored to have been elected to serve on the Board of the Copyright Alliance. This organization brings a wide array of copyright industries together to speak with one voice, which is especially important as we navigate the challenges posed to creators by generative AI. I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to continuing to work with so many brilliant colleagues.” In his statement about joining the Board, Richard said, “I am deeply honored to have been elected to the Copyright Alliance Board. My dedication to the arts and intellectual property rights is unwavering, and I am committed to protecting the creative works that enrich our culture and to advocating for the fair compensation and rights of authors and creators.” 

Regarding the announcement, Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid noted, “I look forward to working with Shannon and Richard—both of whom have long been involved with a number of our key efforts—on an array of Copyright Alliance initiatives that are critical to the copyright community during the coming year. There is no doubt that they will both make tremendous contributions while serving on the Board. I would also like to thank Mary Rasenberger of the Authors Guild for the tremendous impact she had during her Board term.” 

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ABOUT THE COPYRIGHT ALLIANCE

The Copyright Alliance is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest and educational organization representing the copyright interests of over two million individual creators and over 15,000 organizations in the United States, across the spectrum of copyright disciplines. The Copyright Alliance is dedicated to advocating policies that promote and preserve the value of copyright, and to protecting the rights of creators and innovators. For more information, please visit our website.

ABOUT A2IM

A2IM is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in New York City that exists to support and strengthen the independent recorded music sector. Membership currently includes a broad coalition of over 600 independently owned American music labels. A2IM represents these independently owned small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) interests in the marketplace, in the media, on Capitol Hill, and as part of the global music community. In doing so, it supports a key segment of America’s creative class that represents America’s diverse musical and cultural heritage. Billboard Magazine identified the independent music label sector as 37.32 percent of the music industry’s U.S. recorded music sales market in 2016 based on copyright ownership, making independent labels collectively the largest music industry sector. More information is available here.  

ABOUT NMPA

Founded in 1917, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) is the trade association representing all American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The NMPA’s mandate is to protect and advance the interests of music publishers and songwriters in matters relating to the domestic and global protection of music copyrights. More information is available here.