CALIFORNIA MUSIC COALITION

In a move seen as a counter-strike against the artist rights movement, some record labels are mobilizing to launch a campaign aimed at defeating legislature that would repeal California’s seven-year statute.

The Sacramento-based California Music Coalition, which will officially launch today at a press conference in Beverly Hills, has been organized to oppose state legislation brought on by numerous artists groups, including the Recording Artists Coalition.

The CMC is composed of major and independent labels, as well as industry limo drivers, CD pressers, merchandisers and graphic artists. Among those attending the conference will be, the RIAA’s Hilary Rosen, Ark-21’s Miles Copeland, Concord’s Glen Barros and Moonshine’s Jon Levy.

"This is a very unfair fight," Copeland told HITS. "The artist traditionally has been anti-establishment. That's what rock & roll is all about—rebellion. The record companies aren't really putting up a fight. And the artists have basically marched down a path without realizing what the end result will be."

"We were told by a lot of independent companies that they didn't want this issue, or any other, to always be seen by the public through the prism of only the majors," Rosen told The Hollywood Reporter. "There needs to be a broader voice. All these issues affect the small labels and manufacturing plants and everybody else just as much as it affects the majors. So we supported this formation."