Track 01
How a Bill Becomes Statute
Introduction, committee referral, markup, floor, conference, signature. The actual paper trail — not the schoolhouse song. Where music policy lives: House Judiciary IP Subcommittee, Senate Judiciary, Commerce.
Creator Civics · Module 04 of Soundmark School
Civic literacy for the people who make the music.
Most working musicians have never read a committee markup. Most policy staff have never wrapped a cable. Creator Civics closes the gap. Six tracks that teach you how copyright is actually written, who you talk to, and how to move a bill from the hopper to the President’s desk — without hiring a K Street firm to translate it for you.
House Judiciary · IPSenate CommerceLDA DisclosureLouisiana State Legislature
Six Tracks · The Civic Curriculum
Companion to SoundmarkTrack 02
Reading the Markup
Strike-throughs, redlines, manager's amendments. How to spot a poison-pill rider written by a lobbyist before it leaves committee. Plain-English annotation of every active music bill.
Track 03
Writing Testimony
Five minutes, three pages. Templates for written and oral testimony to House and Senate committees. How to be the expert witness staff actually quote.
Track 04
The Constituent Letter
Who reads it, who counts it, who throws it out. District-specific, signed, hand-delivered when possible. The math behind a representative answering a phone.
Track 05
Coalition & Disclosure
How to file as a 501(c)(4), how to disclose lobbying contacts under the LDA, how to coalition with AFM, SAG-AFTRA, MAC, and the Recording Academy without giving up your seat.
Track 06
The Local Layer
Louisiana state legislature, Orleans Parish council, city sound-ordinance hearings. Where heritage-studio designation actually gets fought — and where the cohort wins first.
The Legislative Calendar
Annual · 118th → 120th CongressWindow
Jan — Mar
Bill drop window. New session, new numbers, redrafts hit the hopper.
Window
Apr — Jun
Markup season. Most music bills die or advance in subcommittee here.
Window
Jul — Aug
District work period. Representatives at home — the only window for in-person constituent meetings.
Window
Sep — Dec
Conference, omnibus, and end-of-year vehicles. Where amendments quietly attach.
Closing Mandate
Civics is the missing module. Without it, the law happens to you.
Creator Civics graduates do three things: file the Soundmark, write the testimony, work the district. The Sound Recording Modernization Act drafted at Soundmark School only lands on the floor because this cohort knows how to move it.