Gigatone's Micky Dolenz Supports Recording Artists on Capitol Hill

SACRAMENTO, Calif. and NEW YORK, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Gigatone Entertainment, a next generation entertainment company based in Sacramento and Hollywood, announced Gigatone Recording Artist Micky Dolenz met with leaders in Congress on June 23 in Washington, DC to drive for the passage of the Performance Rights Act. The bill, H.R. 848, is being spearheaded by Dolenz and would require that broadcast radio stations pay performers when their music is played on the radio.

"Terrestrial radio has not paid musicians for 80 years while all other radio platforms pay for the recordings they use," said Dolenz in remarks to lawmakers just before a live performance of Monkees hits. "This bill will benefit the many background singers and session musicians who have created the sounds on so many great recordings."

Dolenz is the Official Spokesperson and Co-Chair of the MusicFIRST Coalition which is comprised of a number of music industry organizations including The Recording Academy, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), A2IM, and others.

"It's time for recording artists to receive what's right and fair in terms of compensation," said Mitchell Koulouris, CEO of Gigatone Entertainment and a Governor in the San Francisco Chapter of The Recording Academy (The Grammys®). "The hits of The Monkees and the familiar singing voice of Micky Dolenz is a classic example of a recording artist whose hits such as "I'm A Believer", "Pleasant Valley Sunday", and others were written by others. This bill would finally provide to recording artists fair pay for air play".  America is the only democratic country in the world that does not require radio stations to compensate musicians when their music is played. Koulouris accompanied Dolenz to Capitol Hill for meetings with lawmakers.

As lead singer of The Monkees, Dolenz was the singing voice of many huge hits of a generation including "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", "Last Train To Clarksville", and many others. Dolenz is finishing up a 15-track tribute album to legendary songwriter Carole King titled "King For A Day". Like the hits of The Monkees, Dolenz will not receive royalties for these new tracks when played on the radio.

At the Capitol Hill performance on June 23, Dolenz was backed by Congressmen Joe Crowley (D-NY) on guitar, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) on keyboard, and Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) on drums. They performed Monkees hits to an enthusiastic audience.

In addition to his lobbying effort on Capitol Hill, Dolenz is promoting the release of his new album and the myRecordFantasy event. The three-day camp gives fans an up-close, behind-the-scenes, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved in an album project with an artist they love. Fans get the opportunity to audition to perform on the album among other up-close and unique experience in the three-day event. Each myRecordFantasy events is capped off with a special VIP private concert from the artist featuring their memorable hits as well as selections from his new album.

SOURCE Gigatone