Dave Matthews, Fellow Musicians Form Their Own Lobbying Group

"Artists don’t really have a seat at any table" when it comes to political lobbying, manager Irving Azoff says—but that's about to change thanks to the Music Artists Coalition, a new lobbying group for recording artists that's been formed by Azoff and a group including rocker Dave Matthews, rapper Anderson .Paak, country singer Maren Morris, manager Coran Capshaw, manager John Silva, lawyer Jordan Bromley, and publicist Kristen Foster. The group will take on big tech's lobbying arm, Bloomberg reports. While other lobbying groups already exist in the music space, they're focused on record labels, music publishers, radio stations, and the like—not artists. Artists need their own lobbying arm, Azoff argues, as the government gets increasingly involved in how much they earn for their music from places like bars, radio stations, restaurants, and streaming services. (More on the group here.)