Kalo Exits Artist Rights Alliance
• The Artist Rights Alliance (ARA), an artist-run nonprofit fighting for a healthy creative economy and fair treatment for all creators in the digital world, has announced that Executive Director Ted Kalo will be stepping down. He will remain on hand to assist in the selection of his successor and will act as an advisor to the organization moving forward. Recent ARA accomplishments under Kalo’s leadership include successfully advocating for the inclusion of robust songwriter protections in the Music Modernization Act, and supporting the Copyright Office’s implementation efforts that led to the recent payment of nearly $500 million in “black box” royalties to the Mechanical Licensing Collective.
“It has been an honor to serve the Artist Rights Alliance and to fight for a better future for the musicians and songwriters it represents,” says Kalo. “What makes ARA unique is that it is run by artists advocating for their fellow artists — a factor that made my five years serving as Executive Director particularly special. I am forever indebted to ARA’s artist-run board for their guidance, insight, and friendship. I look forward to the organization’s continued growth and success advocating for a more sustainable music economy that better supports the people who make the music we love.”
Board member Rosanne Cash remarked, “Ted’s decision to step down as Executive Director of Artist Rights Alliance is a significant loss for our organization. His brilliance in matters of policy and law, coupled with his patient guidance and unwavering vision, gave so much wind to our sails and so much clarity to our mission of protecting and advancing artists’ rights. He will be deeply missed, but we are fortunate to have benefited from his wisdom and will always count him as friend and advisor.”
