High Stakes in November for Music Biz

09/03/2004 7:17 PM, Reuters
Bill Holland

While the race for the White House draws most of the public's political attention between now and Election Day, operatives of both parties and private-sector industries will focus a good deal of effort on state races.

The balance of power in Congress is at stake. In the Senate, the Republicans hold a slim one-seat margin, which gives them committee chairmanship.

For those in the music business, the Senate races involving Judiciary Committee members are among the most important. Judiciary oversees copyright-related issues.

This cycle, one big change on the Judiciary Committee is already in the works. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, the activist chairman, must step down under Republican rules limiting committee chairmanships to six-year terms.

There is talk that Hatch may try to convince the leadership to re-institute an Intellectual Property subcommittee within Judiciary. That way he could continue to steer copyright public policy. Precedent is on his side: Judiciary contained such a subcommittee well into the 1990s.

Should the Republicans keep their majority in the Senate, seniority would give the chair of the full committee to Charles Grassley of Iowa.

But Grassley is already chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, and veterans say he'll want to keep that chair. Insiders say Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the next-senior Republican, will probably get the leadership nod.

Grassley and Specter are the only two committee Republicans involved in re-election bids. Grassley is expected to win his race easily. Specter might find more of a fight on his hands. Some Democrats think their challenger, Rep. Joseph Hoeffel , has a chance to upset him, and the pundits seem to agree.

It's clear that the entertainment industry wants Specter to win. He is the third-biggest recipient of the industry's Senate contributions.

According to the latest Federal Election Commission figures, released last month and analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics, Specter has received $236,100 from the donation sector that CRP bundles as "TV/ Movies/Music." That includes the Recording Industry Assn. of America, the performing-rights organizations, individual record companies and such multimedia entertainment groups as Time Warner.

Four Judiciary Committee Democrats are involved in re-election bids: ranking member (and former chairman) Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, Barbara Boxer of California and Charles E. Schumer of New York.

If the Democrats take the Senate, Leahy would probably return as chairman. Leahy is an expected shoo-in in Vermont, as is Schumer in New York. Boxer's challenger is also trailing by a wide margin, as are Feingold's challengers.

The entertainment industry also has stepped up to the plate for Leahy and Boxer. The FEC figures list Boxer as its No. 2 Senate recipient of contributions ($350,140) from that quarter and Leahy as its No. 4 ($207,950).

The top recipient from the entertainment industry is Democratic minority leader Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota ($417,470).

Reuters/Billboard