On Fri, Feb. 3, 2023, the Recording Academy® Entertainment Law Initiative® will welcome Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, as the keynote speaker of its annual GRAMMY® Week Event at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Mayor Bass will join leaders in the legal and creative communities as they celebrate the work of their peers and the year-round efforts of the Entertainment Law Initiative, which aims to encourage discussion and debate around the impact of legal affairs on the music industry.
“We are honored to welcome Mayor Karen Bass to the ELI GRAMMY Week Event as we gather and celebrate with the trailblazing professionals and students who are paving the way forward in the entertainment law industry,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “Mayor Bass has been a longtime supporter of music creators’ rights in her legislative roles, and she has a unique understanding of how the creative industries intersect with law and policy that we look forward to hearing at this year’s event.”
Said Mayor Bass, “I’m proud to support GRAMMY Week because of the role that our entertainment industry plays in powering our local economy and to encourage efforts to increase equity and opportunities for Angelenos to break into the music business.”
Mayor Bass was sworn in as L.A.’s mayor on Dec. 11, 2022, after representing California’s 33rd congressional district from 2011 to 2013 and its 37th congressional district from 2013 to 2022 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Between 2004 and 2010, she served in the California State Assembly and was elected as Speaker in 2008.
In addition to hosting Mayor Bass, the event will also honor the winner and runners-up of the Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Contest, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association, which challenges students in Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws programs at U.S. law schools to research a pressing legal issue facing the modern music industry and outline a proposed solution in a 3,000-word essay. The winner of this year’s Writing Contest is Aron Lichtschein, a JD student at NYU School of Law, for his essay, “Tickets to Ride: NFTs and the Future of Concert Ticketing.” With this honor, Lichtschein will receive a $10,000 scholarship as well as tickets to the 65th GRAMMY Awards® and other GRAMMY Week events, and his essay will be published in the ABA’s journal Entertainment & Sports Lawyer. Two runners up, Gina Maeng and Amanda Sharp, students at Georgetown Law School and University of San Diego School of Law, respectively, will each receive $2,500 scholarships for their essays.
The Recording Academy announced last month that Peter T. Paterno, Partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP, will receive the 2023 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award at the ELI GRAMMY Week Event, presented each year to an attorney who has demonstrated a commitment to advancing and supporting the music community through service.
GRAMMY Week culminates with the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sun, Feb. 5, 2023, broadcasting live on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT. Media assets for GRAMMY season and events can be found here.
