Songwriters and performers from the This Is My America project gathered to perform at a special songwriter’s event at the Commodore Grille Monday night, Feb. 23.

Those that performed included: Rory Bourke, Thomas Cain, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Matt Dame, Steve Dean, Roxie Dean, Craig Duncan, Bill Flowerree, J Fred Knobloch, Sarah Majors, Tom McBryde, Wood Newton, Jimmy Nichols, David Pack, Tammy Rogers, Brian White, Lynn Wilbanks, Karyn Williams and David Wills.

About This Is My America:
This Is My America is a musical journey through America’s history.  It is much more than another contemporary collection of patriotic hits; it is an epic concept album that provides unique insight into the Story of America, as told through the original interpretations of the songwriters and performers.  For more information and to buy the album, visit: www.ThisIsMyAmerica.com

New York, NY: February 26, 2009:  ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) will present a one-day music career boosting event called “ASCAP New York Sessions” on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center on Broadway at 60th Street in New York City.  The event is designed to strengthen the skills, knowledge and craft that songwriters, composers and producers need to succeed in today’s music business.  ASCAP New York Sessions is open to all music creators regardless of affiliation.  For more information, including pricing and registration, go to www.ascap.com/sessions.

Highlights include:

–Keynote interview with Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Rob Thomas

–”A Meeting of Musical Minds” – a panel discussion featuring a diverse and multi-talented group of East Coast-based songwriters, composers and producers, including:
–Carvin Haggins & Ivan Barias(Karma Productions) - Songwriters, Producers - “Teach Me,” “B.U.D.D.Y.,” “Customer,” Who is Jill Scott?
–Sam Hollander (S*A*M) - Producer, Songwriter - “Cupid’s Chokehold,” “Bring It (Snakes on a Plane),” “The Great Escape”
–Nico Muhly - Composer, Arranger, Pianist – The Reader, film score, Triade Ballet commissioned by the Paris Opera, Step Team commissioned by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
–Kristal “Tytewriter” Oliver- Songwriter, “Customer,” “Show Stopper,” “Heart Breaker,” “Diddy Rock”
–Adam Schlesinger - Songwriter, Producer - “Stacy’s Mom” TV: A Colbert Christmas Film: Music & Lyrics, That Thing You Do! Broadway: Cry Baby

Additional panel topics include:

–Your Dream Team: Manager, Label, Publisher and Attorney working together for You (Presented by Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc.)
–When Demos Turn Into Masters: The Importance and Relevance of Project Studio Recordings (Presented by Cakewalk)
–Marketing from the Driver’s Seat
–Making the Most from Digital Distribution and Airplay
–The Home Studio Master Class

Prior to ASCAP New York Sessions, ASCAP will hold its  General Annual Membership Meeting, starting at 9:30am, where ASCAP President & Chairman Marilyn Bergman, ASCAP CEO John A. LoFrumentoand ASCAP SVP Domestic Membership Randall Grimmett will give reports covering the state of the industry, legislation, ASCAP operations and member accomplishments.  The General Annual Membership Meeting is open to all ASCAP members at no charge.  Members who wish to attend must RSVP at www.ascap.com/rsvp.

Members of the press may apply for credentials at http://www.ascap.com/press/pressroom/ny_sessions/index.html

About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization (PRO) representing the world’s largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 340,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members.  ASCAP has representation arrangements with similar foreign organizations so that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world where copyright law exists.  ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances.  ASCAP is the only American PRO owned and governed by its writer and publisher members.  www.ascap.com

Big Machine Records recording artist Adam Gregory signed an exclusive songwriter’s affiliation agreement with BMI this week. He is currently on the Soles4Souls club tour that raises awareness and donations for the charity. For more information please visit www.adamgregory.com

Harry Fox are pleased to introduce a new HFA online reports option, Publisher Annual Reports, on Friday, February 13.

Publisher Annual Reports will provide summaries of your company’s HFA Licensing and Royalty Payment activity for the previous year and for the past five years. A report of Total HFA Distributions for these time periods will also be available, which will allow you to calculate your HFA marketshare. Publisher Annual Reports reflect your company’s HFA activity at the end of that particular calendar year, and will not be adjusted should you have future catalog changes. These reports will be made available to your company’s HFA Online Organization Administrators, who can then assign access credentials to HFA Online users within your company as needed. Instructions on how to do this will be sent to the Organization Administrators on Friday, February 13. Once Publisher Annual Reports are launched Friday evening and you have the proper credentials, they can be accessed after logging in to the secure registered users area of www.harryfox.com in the Reports area, in the folder titled ”Publisher Annual Reports.” We hope you will find these reports a useful summary of your HFA activity. If you have any questions, please contact HFA Publisher Services at 212-834-0100 or email publisherservices@harryfox.com.

Songwriters of every genre, from the novice to the professional will converge on Music Row for The Nashville SongWriters Festival held every third weekend of June. The 2009 Song Fest is many happenings in one. It’s part live music festival, part teaching conference, part business networking opportunity and part gathering of old friends. Tune smiths share their original music on multiple outdoor stages and Open Sing Rings.  The jamboree is hosted by SongWritersFestival.com this June 19-21 and registration to attend is now officially open.

There will be featured writers strumming their hits and undiscovered songwriters playing new ones.  Last year  Sony/BMG staff writers, a gang from Warner-Chappell/Ash Street Music and many others you hear every day on the radio, shared their songs. The fest represents the past, present and future of  songwriting, we welcome all forms of music. Composers are encouraged to come as they are and find their place in the mix.

There are several open air stages with scheduled performances and impromptu areas for unscheduled Sing Rings.  Everyone who comes to the fest has an opportunity to share their original lyrics, song or music.  Last year at the Curb Music Parking Lot stage, Tom T. Hall, Stella Parton and many others jumped in to lend their talents. On the Artist Building Partners Video Stage, managed by Red Starr,  live videos of player performances were provided.  Sure Fire Music, one of  Nashville’s oldest publishers along with Second Life sponsored the Web Cast Stage. Studio 33 hosted the Alley Cat Stage and more.

Running concurrently with the live performances the festival also has classes hosted by hit writers to Grammy winners. Writers can attend all or parts of the Pro Instruction while at the fest.  The tutoring was held outdoors between Crystal Gayle’s Building and SESAC on the grass near a shady oak tree. Pros who have “been there done that” gathered to impart their secrets, personal experiences, offer song critiques and other tidbits of the music biz.

The celebration also host an Open House on Music Row where participating music related businesses have an “open door” policy to take questions, exchange samples and discuss what part they play in the industry. Recording Studios, Publishers, Song Pluggers, Duplicators, Distributors, Instrument Makers and many other aspects of the music business will be represented. The Open House is a whirlwind of unscheduled meet and greets and an opportunity to run the Row.

Non Performing songwriters are also encouraged to come and collaborate with other writers. Networking and Co-writing is a crucial key to getting cuts. There will be a writers table where registered attendees can display their CD’s. There will also be informational booths and a collaboration tent hosted by “Keeli”.

There are no set pre qualifications to attend all or parts of the Fest. The festival is not a contest or competition, which makes for a more relaxing atmosphere.  The efforts of caring volunteers and many “Fest Heads” makes this event different. We have feel! The pros were once novices and one day some novices will be pros. Together we inspire and grow in the business of music.

“The event does not let money get in the way of people expressing their craft.” says festival founder Cornelius “Popcorn” Robertson.  “There is no set registration fee to attend the fest. Participants determine their “Writers Share” by their ability to help be a part of the phenomenon. Some have, some have not, we all just do the best we can and that’s what makes this music magic happen. This year, the festival has added the Tune Shop to it’s web site and offers Fest Heads another way to express their support. The Tune Shop has festival related items and other memorabilia for the discriminating songwriter. Proceeds go to develop the fest and spread the load of producing such an event. We’re all the different words that make up the whole song.”

Registration is now officially open. Performing and Non performing songwriters, music related business,  volunteers and the general public wishing to participate in the June 19-21-2009 activities can visit the website at www.SongWritersFestival.com , Email: Popcorn@SongWritersFestival.com or call 615-424-1491 or 931-296-4067 for more info.

New York, NY, February 2, 2009: February 2009 marks two milestone anniversaries for ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).  February 1 was the 150th birthday of Victor Herbert, the great Irish-American composer of such operettas as “Babes in Toyland,” “Naughty Marietta,” “Sweethearts” and “The Red Mill.”  Herbert was also the driving force behind the establishment of ASCAP and served as Vice President of the organization from 1914 until his death in 1924.  And February 13 is the 95th anniversary of the formal founding of the Society envisioned by Herbert and a small group of composers, lyricists and music publishers at New York’s Claridge Hotel in 1914.  ASCAP made it possible and practical for music creators in the United States to be compensated for the public performance of their works in accordance with U.S. Copyright Law.

Victor August Herbert was born in Dublin, Ireland on February 1, 1859.  He received his musical training at the Stuttgart Conservatory in Germany, and became a cellist of great ability, playing in the orchestra of Johann Strauss in Vienna.  When Herbert’s wife, Viennese soprano Therese Foerster, was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1886, Herbert relocated as well, joining the opera’s orchestra.  He soon became a conductor of note, leading the 22nd
Regimental Band of the New York National Guard, the Pittsburgh Symphony and his own Victor Herbert Orchestra.  He was featured, both as conductor and cellist, on early recordings issued by the Victor Talking Machine Company.  As a composer, Herbert wrote 43 operettas, two operas and many instrumental works for ensemble and solo players.  Herbert’s most influential orchestral work was his “Cello Concerto No. 2 in E minor, Op. 30,” which has been recorded frequently.  His operettas introduced a number of classic songs to the American repertory, including “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life,” “Gypsy Love Song,” “Sweethearts,” “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp,” “Babes in Toyland” and the beloved theme, “March of the Toys.”  Herbert died in New York City on May 26, 1924 at the age of 65.  On February 1, 1927, ASCAP presented a statue of Victor Herbert to the city of New York - it still stands in Central Park.  In 1940, Victor Herbert was memorialized on a U.S. Postage Stamp.

Herbert’s legacy of leadership in protecting the rights of music creators runs as deep as his own music.  It was Victor Herbert’s participation in an amicus brief in the case of “White-Smith Music Publishing Company v. The Apollo Company” that helped pave the way for the Copyright Law of 1909, which granted mechanical and performance rights to music creators and publishers.  In addition to spearheading the founding of ASCAP, the lawsuit, “Herbert v. Shanley’s,” served as the basis for the 1917 U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave ASCAP the legal backing to license on behalf of its members.

About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization (PRO) representing the world’s largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 340,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members.  ASCAP has representation arrangements with similar foreign organizations so that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world where copyright law exists.  ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances.  ASCAP is the only American PRO owned and governed by its writer and publisher members.  www.ascap.com