HARVEY LOVES HITS

To mark the reintroduction in Congress of the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act—despite its alarming acronym—the Recording Academy issued some choice huzzahs from chief Harvey Mason Jr. But before we get to those, we should say that if passed, the act would amend the tax code to allow indie artists to fully deduct the costs of recordings in the year they're incurred, thus giving recording artists parity with film and TV creators.

If you've ever witnessed the heartbreaking spectacle of a musician trying to scrape another sandwich's worth of peanut butter out of the inside rim of a clearly empty jar, you know that the tax savings made possible by the HITS act are potentially very significant. But the name? Uccch.

For more details on the proposed legislation, go here. Interestingly, even in the toxic political environment of 2023, music remains an area where bipartisan, bicameral action is possible; congressional reps and senators from both major parties have stepped up as sponsors.

OK, OK—we’ve kept you waiting for that exuberant Harvey quote long enough. We imagine an evocative bed of Fender Rhodes and hi-hat underneath it.

“Earlier this month, at the Grammy Awards, we celebrated the power of music on Music’s Biggest Night, but we know it’s important to build a music ecosystem year-round that supports all creators. The Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act will aid independent artists, songwriters and producers in creating new music that we can celebrate and enjoy. We are grateful to Reps. Sánchez and Estes and Senators Feinstein and Blackburn for reintroducing the HITS Act, and we are optimistic this legislation will finally become law in this Congress. It's a bitter irony that a bill that stands to save music people a lot of money bears this unfortunate moniker, but there it is.”

Hey, is there any peanut butter left?