GRAMMY House NYC’s Artist To Advocate Panel: 5 Lessons In Using Your Voice For Good

"I hope three things," Todd Dupler said at the first-ever GRAMMY House NYC on June 14. "I hope you feel inspired. I also hope you feel empowered. And I hope you know that you're not alone."

The Recording Academy's Chief Advocacy & Public Policy Officer had just finished moderating Artist To Advocate: Forging Tomorrow's Music Landscape, a panel that featured hip-hop artist and SiriusXM host Torae Carr, hit songwriter and Songwriters of North America (SONA) co-founder Michelle Lewis, and singer/songwriter and activist KIRBY. The thoughtful and illuminating discussion focused on advocacy work and highlighted how the three music industry figures use their platforms to champion causes, start conversations and contribute to meaningful change.

"One of the things I remember early on was just how important the microphone was," Carr said to kick off the conversation. "To crack the microphone, you automatically have people's attention, and I never took it lightly … When you have people's attention, I think you should say something, I think you should show something, I think you should represent something."

The Recording Academy, through its Washington, D.C.-based Advocacy team, champions advocacy work on a year-round basis, galvanizing Academy members and music professionals from across the country to present a powerful lobbying force that fights for music creators' rights at the local, state and federal levels. Read more about the Recording Academy's policymaking and advocacy milestones in our 2024 GRAMMY Impact Report, and learn more about how we will continue to push progress into the future.

Below, revisit five key takeaways from GRAMMY House NYC's Artist to Advocate panel that can help inspire your own journey to becoming a force for good.

Advocate For What Matters To You

For anyone wanting to use their platform for the greater good, the hardest step can often be what issue or topic to address. After all, with so much happening in the world and in day-to-day life, the need for advocacy can be seen everywhere — whether that need for advocacy was playing out on the political stage, within the music industry, or as part of the broader social and cultural landscape.

"For me, advocacy starts right at my front door," Carr said. "And that literally or figuratively can be anything or anywhere. But wherever I see a need for a conversation, for more of a light to be shined … those are the things that I'm drawn to and that's where I try to focus my energy."

Similarly, KIRBY advised those in attendance to draw inspiration from personal experience to find their voice as an advocate. "If you look back at your story, it'll tell you your fight," the "Sis." singer said. "What makes you uncomfortable? What makes you curious? When was the last time you didn't feel seen or that you felt weak?"

For her part, Lewis likened her approach when starting SONA a decade ago to that of being a firefighter: "You run to the biggest fire, you run to the fire that calls you." For the songwriter — who has worked with everyone from Cher and Amy Grant to Lindsay Lohan and Little Mix — that proverbial blaze was seeing her very livelihood come under existential threat in the age of streaming.

"Songwriters' rights seemed a little like, 'Is that really a fire?' It's a fire for people [when] that is their living, so that's what drew me to that fire," she said. "But then, I also feel very passionate about reproductive rights and environmental justice and social justice and LGBTQ rights … Once you have a voice, once you create the platform, now you have a fire truck and a bunch of firefighters — it becomes bigger than you."

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Starting Small Can Lead To Big Change

Once you figure out the type of advocacy work you're passionate about, it can still be intimidating to know how, precisely, to get started. For those hesitating to take that first step, Carr offered a simple and straightforward piece of advice: choose to engage. 

"A simple like, a repost, a share goes a long way," the radio host said. "'Cause now you're opening that gateway up from their audience to your audience, and that's how you find community … Simplify it, don't overthink it. But there's a way and there's a how to get involved, even as simple as pulling out your phone."

Choosing to engage on social media is exactly how KIRBY found her voice when, while eating breakfast one morning, she took notice of the Aunt Jemima brand of pancake mix sitting on her kitchen table. "I was on TikTok with about three followers," she said. "I did a TikTok because I saw the Black woman on the box and said, 'Oh, this must be Black-owned! This is by us!' And then I googled and realized it was quite the opposite."

The R&B singer's June 2020 video, titled "How to Make a Non-Racist Breakfast," promptly went viral across social media and sparked a conversation that ultimately led to PepsiCo rebranding the 130-year-old brand to Pearl Milling Company, acknowledging in a statement that Aunt Jemima's "origins were based on a racial stereotype."

"It kinda scared me," KIRBY told the audience of seeing her TikTok rocket to virality across the internet. "But that was the first time I think I realized, 'OK, this is bigger than me' … It's OK to start small. 'Cause somebody is always watching and somebody is always listening."

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Find Connection Amid Hard Conversations

Criticism, backlash and trolls in the comments section are inevitable byproducts of speaking out — a reality Carr, Lewis and KIRBY quickly learned as they each began using their platforms to highlight issues that mattered most to them. 

However, all three agreed that refusing to shy away from opposition only made them stronger and more resilient in their respective activism. Carr engaged with the law enforcement community as he lobbied for the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act; Lewis found common ground with streaming service executives as she advocated for songwriters' rights; and KIRBY faced down racist bullying on social media.

"Respect is always key. You don't have to agree or see eye to eye, but you've got to lead with respect," Carr advised. "You show up informed, you cross your Ts and dot your Is, you're confident in your conversation, and always have that professionalism … Always maintaining that will take you so far [because] your name always enters the room long before you do."

"We are in a time right now where it is very polarizing, and it is really hard to find common ground with people who are literally trying to take your rights away," Lewis was quick to add. "It's hard to look them in the eye and sit at the same table when you're so mad and they're literally trying to hurt you … But just in my little world of trying to negotiate with people at our table, you find points of connection. 

"We all love music," he continued. "[Asking,] 'What's your favorite music? What song did you walk down the aisle to? What was playing at your senior prom? What song do you hold so dear?" Everybody has that. So I go to music."

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Setting Boundaries Is Important

On the other end of the spectrum, KIRBY also assured attendees that setting appropriate boundaries and prioritizing one's own well-being are both key elements in fighting the good fight. 

"I had to learn that it's also OK for me to place boundaries on when and how much I choose to advocate," she said. "Because I have to take care of my mental health, too, at the end of the day … I want to do my part, but I also know that doing my part doesn't mean I can't set a boundary on when I say, 'OK, lemme take a pause and make sure that I'm strong enough to say this today' versus saying it, because I feel like there's an audience that wants to hear me talk about these types of things."

For Lewis, the answer to setting boundaries can sometimes only require a single word. "There's a phenomenon called 'Shut Up and Sing,'" she told the audience, referencing the virulent cultural refrain that has persisted ever since the Chicks famously spoke out against President George W. Bush and America's invasion of Iraq in 2003 (and later immortalized on their GRAMMY-winning 2006 album Taking the Long Way).

"Fans think they pay you to entertain them," Lewis continued. "So if you have the audacity to have an opinion, and show yourself to be more than just a two-dimensional avatar, then you're going to get some s—. They're going to tell you to sit down and shut up and look pretty and entertain them … If that's something that you feel might hurt your feelings, there is an answer to that. And it is a two-letter word, and it is a full sentence. And you can say it with me right now: 'No.'"

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How To Hold Onto Your Power & Overcome Fear

Finally, one of the biggest takeaways for the panelists was remembering the importance of standing up for what's right, even when the road is long and the going gets tough.

For KIRBY, being in control of her own career as an independent artist plays a critical role in having the freedom to use her voice. "That's why owning my masters is so important," the singer/songwriter — who co-wrote hit songs like Rihanna, Paul McCartney and Kanye West's "FourFiveSeconds," Brandy's "Beggin & Pleadin" and Demi Lovato's "Tell Me You Love Me" before breaking out as a solo artist — said. "Because there's some things that I feel like need to be said that a board or an A&R or even my audience at that time might not know that that's something that they even want to hear. 

"You just have to find your way to make sure that you're holding onto your power," she added. "'Cause there's things that you're gonna want to say, and sometimes people will not champion."

Carr agreed, urging the audience: "Do it scared. Sometimes you've just gotta throw caution to the wind, overstep your trepidation, and just get out there and start it. Because you'll learn as you go. You'll meet like-minded people, you'll meet people on your journey that will educate you on the things that maybe you're not as knowledgeable about, but it starts with the heart. It starts with the passion, it starts with the care, and just the want and the need to make a change.

"When people fight for civil rights, literally being on the front lines and being hosed and being attacked by animals and being beaten with nightsticks, you've gotta get up and make a choice that morning," he concluded. "Don't talk yourself out of what your passion and what your heart feels. If it's tugging at you, then it's something that you really believe in and you wanna go try to make a change."

GRAMMY House NYC partners include United Airlines, A2IM (American Association of Independent Music), M·A·C Cosmetics, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), Chef Laurent Tourondel's event venue SECOND, and VOSS Water.