MusicFIRST Announces Chris Israel as Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Adam Temple

(202) 400-2610
temple@jdafrontline.com

Washington, D.C. (January 10, 2017) – The Executive Committee of the musicFIRST Coalition announced today the appointment of Chris Israel as the Coalition’s Executive Director. Mr. Israel will begin serving in this capacity for musicFIRST – a broad-based coalition working to ensure music creators get fair pay for their work, on AM/FM and wherever and however it is played – immediately.

“MusicFIRST has established itself as an unparalleled advocate for artists’ rights and I’m honored to serve in this capacity,” Israel said. “All creators should be compensated fairly for their work, on all platforms and technologies, whenever their music is used.  This isn’t the case today, and musicFIRST is more committed than ever to working with Congress and the new Administration to address the flaws in our copyright law that are unfortunately stacking the deck against artists.”

Israel brings to musicFIRST extensive experience in government and working directly with U.S. artists and copyright owners. His government service includes work on Capitol Hill and nearly seven years in senior leadership roles during the Bush Administration. Israel was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy at the Commerce Department by President Bush in 2001 and served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Commerce Secretaries Donald L. Evans and Carlos Gutierrez from 2003 to 2005. 

In 2005, Israel was appointed to be the first U.S. Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement by President Bush. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating and leveraging the resources of the U.S. government to protect American intellectual property at home and abroad. He was frequently called upon to testify before Congress and led U.S. delegations to key countries including China, India, Russia, Japan and the EU. He also represented the U.S. in global fora including WIPO, G8 and the OECD.

Since leaving government, he has worked directly with artists, businesses and policy makers committed to promoting a strong copyright system that respects and rewards American creators.

Since 2007, musicFIRST has been working to ensure music creators get fair pay for their work everywhere it is played. The group is a national coalition representing artists and record labels, from New York to Nashville, New Orleans to L.A. A full list of coalition members can be found here.