The 2016 Georgia Legislative Session kicked off this week. Michele Caplinger, Mala Sharma and Tammy Hurt, along with Ed Roland (Collective Soul) and John Driskell Hopkins (Zac Brown Band) presented Governor Nathan Deal with an original R. Land Georgia Music print in conjunction with the start of the session on Monday, January 11, 2016. Below are photos from the meeting along with an image of the artwork presented to Governor Deal.
The artwork showcases many of Georgia’s award-winning and renowned musical talents from across the state.
Monday also marked the start of a year-long initiative, to improve the business landscape for Georgia’s music industry and create a business environment which will allow Georgia music to succeed in the future.
GMP will be introducing legislation that will provide tax incentives on both the live and recording side of the business. And because music education is a vital and often overlooked component, we are also proposing a tax exemption for musical instruments in schools. In order to be successful in passing these bills we’ll need your support.
L to R
John D. Hopkins (Zac Brown Band), Governor Deal, Ed Roland (Collective Soul)
Photo credit Andrea Briscoe (Governors office)
>We will have a number of events scheduled in the coming months, we are looking for sponsors and expanding our footprint to Athens, Macon, Savannah and Augusta. Together we can let our representatives know that music matters in Georgia. We will be reaching out in coming weeks to have you contact your legislators to ask them to support our music bills.
Look for additional announcements as we build to Georgia Music Day on Wednesday, March 2, 2016. We are looking forward to working with all of you to make this a truly great year for Georgia music.
Tammy Hurt & Mala Sharma
Co-Presidents
Georgia Music Partners, Inc.
