Washington - The Recording Artists' Coalition (RAC), an eight-year-old lobbying group founded to advocate for musicians' rights, announced on Wednesday that it will merge its efforts with the advocacy arm of the Recording Academy, the organization that produces the annual Grammy Awards.

Founded by musicians Don Henley and Sheryl Crow, the RAC counts more than 150 members.

The organization will now become part of the Academy's Grammy on the Hill initiative, whose goal is to "advance the rights of music creators through advocacy, education and dialogue."

"Instead of functioning as two separate organizations with very similar missions, this alliance will allow us to streamline our operations and put our resources solely into advancing creators' rights," said RAC board member, artist manager and new Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff.

The first objective of the combined entity will be "to educate new and returning policy makers about the critical issues facing music creators and the need to ensure fair compensation for all music creators on all platforms."

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http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090107005334/en

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003003606

http://www.grammy.com/advocacy