More than 600 songwriters, recording artists, industry leaders and members of the music community gathered a the 26th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards on Wednesday, April 22nd at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, California to salute the songwriters and publishers behind some of today’s most popular music.
Top awards were given to:
Songriter of the Year: Stargate’s Mikkel Eriksen & Tor Hermansen
Song of the Year: “Bleeding Love,” written by Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder
Publisher of the Year (tie): EMI Music Publishing and Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Special awards were presented to Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart who were honored with the ASCAP Founders Award; Wyclef Jean who received the ASCAP Creative Voice Award; and Santigold who received ASCAP’s Vanguard Award. Awards were also presented to the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP’s most performed pop songs of 2008.
ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams and ASCAP CEO John A. LoFrumento presented Norwegian songwriters/producers Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen with ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year award. Collectively known as Stargate, the duo was responsible for penning an impressive six of the most performed songs of the past year: Chris Brown’s “With You,” Ne-Yo’s “Closer” and “Miss Independent,” Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” and “Take a Bow,” and Jordin Sparks’s “Tattoo.” This is the second time that Stargate have been named Songwriters of the Year — the hit-making duo picked up the coveted prize at the 2007 ASCAP Awards in London after taking the charts by storm with a string of hits, including the Billboard #1 “So Sick” by Ne-Yo.
The sought-after Song of the Year award went to Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder for the Grammy-nominated song “Bleeding Love,” performed by British singer Leona Lewis. McCartney and Tedder were on hand to accept their awards, and Tedder along with OneRepublic bandmates also collected Pop Awards for “Apologize” and “Stop and Stare.”
The Top 5 most performed songs of 2008 (in alpha order) were:
“Apologize,” written by Ryan Tedder
“Bleeding Love,” written by Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder
“Love Song,” written by Sara Bareilles
“Low,” written by Flo-Rida
“No One,” written by Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, DJ Dirty Harry and Alicia Keys
ASCAP Publisher of the Year honors went to both EMI Music Publishing and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, who tied with 20 award-winning songs each. ASCAP CEO John A. LoFrumento and Chairman of Paramount Allegra Music and ASCAP Board Member Irwin Z. Robinson presented the awards to Roger Faxon, Chairman and CEO of EMI Music Publishing and Martin Bandier, Chairman and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing and their creative teams.
Jerry Cantrell of the influential band Alice in Chains and ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams presented Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart with ASCAP’s Founders Award. During their extraordinary 35-year career, Heart have sold more than 30 million records, had 21 Top 40 hits, sold out arenas worldwide and kicked down barriers that once held back women in Rock & Roll. The group will be hitting the studio this year to record what will be its 14th album, and is gearing up to mark the 30th anniversary of its classic multi-platinum album Dog & Butterfly with special events and celebrations.
The ASCAP Founders Award is among the most prestigious honors that ASCAP gives to songwriters who have made pioneering contributions to music by inspiring and influencing their fellow music creators. Each recipient is a musical innovator who possesses a unique style of songwriting genius that will enrich generations to come. Past recipients include Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Melissa Etheridge, Annie Lennox, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Tom Waits and Neil Young, to name a few.
ASCAP Senior Vice President Domestic Membership Randall Grimmett presented Wyclef Jean with ASCAP’s Creative Voice Award, which is bestowed upon an ASCAP member or group whose significant career achievements are equally informed by their creative spirit and by their contributions to the role that a creator can play in their community. Wyclef’s work, both as a humanitarian and as a musician, has had an incredibly positive impact on people all over the world. As a songwriter, musician and producer, a solo artist and as a member of the Fugees, he has earned multiple Grammy Awards as well as countless Top 10 albums and singles. His seventh solo LP, ToSir With Love, will be released this fall. As a dedicated humanitarian, Wyclef founded Yéle Haiti in 2005 to provide aid and assistance to his
native country of Haiti.
Past recipients of ASCAP’s Creative Voice Award are Metallica and Green Day, who received this honor in 2004 and 2006, respectively.
Downtown Music Publishing artist Santi White (aka Santigold) was honored with ASCAP’s Vanguard Award, which recognizes the impact of musical genres that help shape the future of American music. Previous honorees include The All-American Rejects, The Arcade Fire, Sara Bareilles, Beck, Modest Mouse, the Strokes, Built to Spill, the Mars Volta, Joseph Arthur and Jack Johnson.
The awards celebration featured several performances throughout the evening, including those by special honorees Ann & Nancy Wilson and Wyclef Jean. New ASCAP member Natasha Bedingfield performed two songs, including “Pocketful of Sunshine” which earned her co-writer John Shanks a Pop Award.
Jesse McCartney sang his hit “Leavin’,” which was penned by Corron Cole, Terius “The Dream” Nash and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart. OneRepublic performed their Pop Award-winning hits “Apologize” and “Stop and Stare;” and Jason Reeves and Mikal Blue were on stage to sing their award-winner, “Realize” (a hit for Colbie Caillat) with songwriter and American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, who signed Reeves to Warner Bros. Records.
Many of the evening’s winning songwriters were on hand to collect their awards, including multiple winners Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald who received four awards; Terius “The Dream” Nash, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart and Ryan Tedder who collected three awards each; Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson, Andre Merritt, Jason Reeves, and Brian Kennedy Seals who won two awards each; and Quincy Jones for “Good Life;” Kardinal Offishall for “Dangerous;” Johntá Austin for “With You;” and Webbie for “Independent.”
The complete list of winners is available at www.ascap.com.
Honorees, performers and notables in attendance were: Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart; Wyclef Jean; Quincy Jones; Santigold; Fergie; Ryan Tedder; Jesse McCartney; Mikkel Eriksen & Tor Hermansen (Stargate); Natasha Bedingfield; Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald; Terius “The Dream” Nash; Christopher “Tricky” Stewart; Kerry “Krucial” Brothers; OneRepublic; Jason Reeves; Kara DioGuardi; Johntá Austin; Just Blaze; Mikal Blue; Desmond Child; Cri$tyle; DJ Dirty Harry; Estelle; Ron Fair, Chairman of Geffen Records; Toby Gad; Lil’ Kim; LeRoy P. Marinell; Harvey Mason Jr.; Christina Milian; Colby O’Donis; Kardinal Offishall; Neil Portnow, President of the Recording Academy; John Shanks; Damon Thomas; Waddy Wachtel; Webbie; and many others.
The 26th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards is part of an entire week of events planned by ASCAP to celebrate the voice of the music creator.
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 350,000 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
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New York, NY, April 16, 2009: Songwriter Paul Williams was elected President and Chairman of the Board of ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) today by the ASCAP Board of Directors at its meeting in Nashville, TN.
Williams’ election follows on the heels of songwriter Marilyn Bergman’s decision to step down from the ASCAP Presidency effective today, although she will continue as an active Board Member. Bergman announced her plans on April 8, 2009, after 15 distinguished years as President and Chairman of the Board.
Songwriter Jimmy Webb has been elected writer Vice Chairman to replace Williams, who held that post for the prior two years. On the publisher side, the re-elected officers are: Irwin Robinson of Paramount Allegra Music as Vice Chairman; Kathy Spanberger of peermusic as Secretary; and James M. Kendrick of Schott Music Corporation/European American Music Corporation as Treasurer.
Commenting on the Board’s choice for her successor, Bergman said: “I have worked closely with Paul during his eight years as a member of the ASCAP Board of Directors, and particularly since he assumed the post of writer Vice Chairman. He is an outstanding choice to lead the vital work that ASCAP conducts on behalf of all of us who create music. In addition to his tremendous talent as a songwriter, Paul has deep knowledge of both the challenges and opportunities that face music creators in today’s environment. I have no doubt that he will be a powerful and vigorous advocate for our needs and rights. And I’m very pleased that illustrious songwriter and performer Jimmy Webb will be serving as writer Vice Chair.”
Williams added: “It’s a great honor and privilege to be elected President and Chairman of the Board of ASCAP. On behalf of my fellow Board members, I would like to thank Marilyn for her extraordinarily productive work and the dedication she has shown over the last fifteen years. The ability to make a viable living from creating music is of critical importance not just to songwriters and composers, but also to our society as a whole. Recent advances in areas like technology have opened many new doors for music creators. But we also face a host of daunting challenges relative to how the act of creating music is both fairly valued and compensated. ASCAP must remain a strong voice for our creative community, and I plan to do all I can to ensure this is the case.”
Timeless Standards Mark an Award-Winning Career
Paul Williams is an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning Hall of Fame songwriter. “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “You and Me Against the World,” “An Old Fashioned Love Song,” “I Won’t Last a Day Without You” and “Let Me Be The One” are among his timeless standards.
His songs have been recorded by such diverse musical icons as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Ella Fitzgerald, David Bowie, Ray Charles, R.E.M., Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughn, Johnny Mathis, Luther Vandross and Kermit the Frog.
Bugsy Malone and Phantom of the Paradise are among his song scores for film. “The Rainbow Connection” from the children’s classic The Muppet Movie and “Evergreen” from A Star is Born are two of his songs that grace the American Film Institute’s list of the top 100 movie songs of all times.
Having completed the music and lyrics for the Garry Marshall musical Happy Days, Williams joined forces with the Henson Company to produce a new Christmas musical based on the perennial favorite, Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. In 2008, NBC aired A Muppet Christmas: Letter To Santa, an original Christmas special with both story and songs by Williams.
Publicly lauded for his work as a songwriter, performer, actor and humanitarian, Williams predicts he’ll be most remembered for playing Little Enos in the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy and for his lyrics to “The Love Boat” theme. As a devoted husband to writer Mariana Williams and proud father, he considers his son Cole and daughter Sarah to be his best work.
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 350,000 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