RIAA Honors Celebrates Garth Brooks, Disney Music’s Head, U.S. Representatives for ‘Doing the Work’
The Washington D.C. event included an intimate performance by Brooks of his songs and others that inspired his record-breaking career.
Black News 
Garth Brooks, who famously sang about “Friends in Low Places,” hit another career highlight on Wednesday (June 3) when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) presented him with the artist of a lifetime award for being the only artist in history with 10 diamond albums (for equivalent sales of 10 million units each).
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Held at the RIAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., the event, which was sponsored by Billboard, also honored Disney Music Group president Ken Bunt, who was awarded the label executive of the year award and Representatives Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), who were jointly named the policymakers of the year for their work on legislation to give artists protections from AI deepfakes.
With an intimate performance from Brooks, who played a handful of his own hits and songs by artists that have inspired him to continue breaking records, the event celebrated the power of music and the commitment creators, music industry leaders and legislators have to protecting the effort that goes into it.
“As America begins to gather to celebrate its 250th birthday, we recognize four amazing people tied together by a simple, profound and fundamentally American, idea — showing up and doing the work,” RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said in opening remarks.
Accepting the award in person, Congressman Moran applauded Congresswoman Dean as a “steady voice for creators” and partner, with whom he introduced the Transparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks (TRAIN) Act, which improves transparency into the copyrights used to train generative AI models.
“Innovation built on integrity,” said Moran, who is an author of the TRAIN Act and has also led with Dean on the NO FAKES Act. Speaking to the musicians in the room, Moran said, “You will last, [because] the path forward is transparency, proper attribution, and respect for the creators who make this industry and this country the music capital of the world.”
Accepting her award by video, Dean said federal laws like the TRAIN and NO FAKES Acts are needed because the current patchwork of state regulations are not enough to protect the “privacy, dignity and intellectual property of every American.”
Bunt was introduced by a video montage of artists including English singer and actress Freya Skye, rising star Hudson Stone, the Jonas Brothers and more thanking Bunt for his contribution to music and their careers. Visibly moved, the longtime RIAA board member said, “I’m just thrilled to do what I do and help make human connections. I think that’s the thing that I love most about music, [it] really connects people.”
Music industry legends Don Was, president of Blue Note Records, and Universal Music Publishing Group, North America president Evan Lamberg regaled the crowd with stories of Brooks’ charisma and character before “The Dance” singer took the stage to express his thanks.
“They say that gratefulness is the seed of happiness, and I am grateful every single day to have been given this shot,” Brooks said, standing in front of a table overflowing with industry awards he’d received since his first hit single was released in 1989. “But [manager] Bob Doyle told me early on that getting the shot wasn’t going to be the hard part. The hard part was going to be hanging on to it. I can’t thank God and the people enough for my life and the career I have been so lucky to have.”
The capstone of the night was Brooks’ performance of a medley of James Taylor songs — “Carolina In My Mind,” “Fire and Rain,” and “The River,” followed by a cover of Bob Seger’s “Turn The Page,” George Strait’s “Amarillo By Morning,” and his own hits “The Thunder Rolls” and “Friends in Low Places.”
Remarking on Brooks’ performance, Glazier said the four honorees “remind us that music matters and our voices are worth protecting.
