LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Dana LaPolt, owner of LaPolt Law in Los Angeles, published an op-ed in Variety that demands that Greg Maffei step down as chairman of board of Live Nation Entertainment because of conflict of interest.
LaPolt, an advocate for the Music Modernization Act, claims that, by holding dual roles at SiriusXM Radio and Live Nation, Maffei is working against artists rather than for them.
While Live Nation was founded on supporting and promoting artists, helping their livelihood, SiriusXM “leverages the hard work of artists and songwriters for its own benefit without paying just compensation,” LaPost wrote.
Now, let me tell you about what Chairman of the Board Greg Maffei has been doing this week,” she continued. “He and paid lobbyists acting at his direction have been openly trolling members on Capitol Hill actively trying to kill the Music Modernization Act (MMA), which is the first meaningful piece of copyright legislation in decades that is meant to protect songwriters and artists.
“There is only one possible explanation why he would do this: so that SiriusXM does not have to pay fair compensation to music creators. Specifically, they are trying to kill the bill because of the CLASSICS provision. This provision would require SiriusXM to actually pay royalties to legacy artists whose recordings were made prior to 1972.”
The MMA, which unanimously passed the House of Representatives and currently has 76 co-sponsors in the Senate, benefits all of the music industry except solely SiriusXM, LaPolt said, and Maffei’s activity shows his true allegiance.
“This stance is diametrically opposed to Greg Maffei’s duties to protect artists in his position as Chairman of the Board of Live Nation. Mr. Maffei is supporting his business interests as Chairman of the Board of SiriusXM to the detriment of the artists he is supposed to protect as Chairman of the Board of Live Nation.”
Live Nation told Variety that Maffei would not immediately comment on the the article’s supposition.
The opinion piece is available here.
