www.musicconnection.com

SONG BIZ
KING IS QUEEN FOR A DAY
ASCAP’S FRENCH KISS
Song Biz was on hand at the Hollywood Walk of Fame as legendary songwriter
Carole King was honored with a star on Hollywood Boulevard. Pictured (l-r):
Songwriter Carole Bayer Sager and King.
The Périgord Vert region of Dordogne, France was the site for an ASCAP Songwriters
Retreat at the medieval Château Marouatte as topliners, producers and
artists from both sides of the Atlantic enjoyed a week of both intensive writing
and relaxation. Pictured (l-r): Chris DeStefano, Jayson Dezuzio, Mike Posner,
Hillary Lindsey, Fran Hall, Jodi Marr, Needlz, Tom Higgenson, Claudia Brant,
Julian Emery, Kerli, Brett James, Priscilla Renea, Theron “Neff-U” Feemster,
Stefano, Jenna Andrews, Justin Parker and Nick Hodgson.
DioGuardi’s Berklee Course
Kara DioGuardi, accomplished songwriter,
producer, record and publishing executive, television
personality and MC cover girl, is currently
teaching a class at Berklee College of Music this
semester, bringing her incomparable songwriting
and production experience to campus.
Developed specifically for Berklee, DioGuardi’s
course, Hit Songwriting, pairs student songwriters
and producers to mirror today’s music industry
practices. DioGuardi has 27 students in the class,
whom she handpicked to take the course.
DioGuardi is one of the world’s most successful
contemporary songwriters; her work has appeared
on more than 160 million albums. She has
authored over 50 charting singles with artists such
as Katy Perry, P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Kelly
Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Gwen Stefani,
Colbie Caillat, Rascal Flatts and Celine Dion,
in addition to judging seasons eight and nine of
the hit FOX show American Idol.
Hit Songwriting students will work to gain insight
into the career paths of successful nonperformance
Berklee graduates such as MC
Song Biz Profile subject and Grammy-nominated
songwriter Claude Kelly (whose hits include the
Miley Cyrus anthem “Party in the U.S.A.,” the
Bruno Mars smash “Grenade,” and Pitbull’s
“International Love” featuring Chris Brown) and
Song Biz subject and Grammy Award-winning
songwriter/producer Makeba Riddick (whose
most popular works include Rihanna’s “Rude
Boy,” Beyoncé’s “Déjà Vu” featuring Jay-Z,
and Eminem’s “Love the Way you Lie” featuring
Rihanna).
Get more details at http://berklee.edu/events/
hitmaking-kara-dioguardi.
Songwriters Oppose
Internet Act
ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and the NSAI are
calling on Congress to address the concerns of
songwriters and composers, whom the groups
say are being disadvantaged by a misaligned
regulatory structure, resulting in artificially low
payments to America’s music creators. In a joint
letter to Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte
and Ranking Member Mel Watt, the groups
laid out their reasons for opposing the “Internet
Radio Fairness Act of 2012,” H.R. 6480 (“IRFA”),
commonly known as the Pandora bill, while
noting that any effort to reform music licensing
should address a greater problem: the current
disjointed rate setting systems governing digital
services. This results in an undervaluation of the
public performing right in musical works, harming
songwriters, composers and music publishers.
The letter points to the gross inequities that
have developed in the music licensing landscape
as a result of opposing rate setting systems
applied to the amounts paid to songwriters,
composers and publishers versus those paid to
record labels and recording artists.
To illustrate this point, the letter notes:
“Pandora’s 2012 annual report stated that it
paid 49.7 percent of its revenue in royalties to
SoundExchange, and 4.1 percent of its revenue
in royalties to the US PROs, namely, ASCAP,
SESAC and BMI. In other words, from the total
pool of monies paid for the performance of music
and sound recordings, almost 92 percent of the
money paid by Internet radio flows to record labels
and performing artists through SoundExchange,
and only 8 percent of it is paid to songwriters and
publishers…”
Visit http://ascap.com for complete details.
Celebrating Women in The
Song World
Billboard’s annual “Women in Music” list includes
a number of luminaries from the music
publishing world. Included in the influential roster
are Jody Gerson, Co-president, Sony/ATV
Music Publishing; Linda Newman, Executive
VP/head of acquisitions and strategic projects at
WILCO RE-UPS WITH BMG CHRYSALIS
BMG Chrysalis North
America has renewed
its exclusive worldwide
administration deal with
Jeff Tweedy, founding
member and leader of
American rock band Wilco
and co-founder of the
alt-country band Uncle
Tupelo. BMG Chrysalis US
already represents Tweedy
and other Wilco members.
With this new agreement,
Tweedy brings the rest
of his works to BMG who
will now represent the
complete Wilco catalog.
Pictured (l-r): David
Hirshland, EVP of Client
Services & Creative at BMG
Chrysalis and Jeff Tweedy.
BMI’S URBAN WONDERLAND
BMI’s Los Angeles-based Urban department held a holiday mixer at the West
Restaurant inside the Hotel Angeleno in Beverly Hills. Guests donated used
coats, hats, gloves, blankets, etc. to The Harvest Community Center. Pictured
(l-r): Katie Welle, Sony/ATV; Sam Taylor, EMI; and Nicole Plantin, BMI.
28 January 2013 www.musicconnection.com