What Does SONA Do?
Defend Songwriters!
We are making a difference.
SONA is continually working to be an inclusive and diverse community that brings together passionate music creatives and industry professionals to reimagine the music industry in the 21st century.
We do this through using a collective voice to defend and represent the songwriter community in all issues where songwriters are impacted, including:
- Our right to fair pay in the age of digital media
- Our right to speak out and give a collective voice to the songwriting community
- In lieu of a union to uphold the standards of safety and equality in our workplaces, where music is created
How did SONA come about in the first place?
In January of 2015, songwriting partners Kay Hanley and Michelle Lewis founded SONA (Songwriters Of North America) in response to the unfair licensing rates being paid to music creators by digital streaming companies like Spotify and Pandora.
With their close community of working Los Angeles-based songwriters and composers and high-powered entertainment attorney and activist, Dina LaPolt, they quickly built up their ranks to become a prominent and respected voice on the leading edge of issues that face songwriters in the new digital music economy.
In the last few years, they played a pivotal role in the crafting, lobbying and passage of landmark copyright legislation, The Music Modernization Act.