Publishing
Page: 36
ASCAP has announced a number of new initiatives designed to help its members protect their copyrights and plan for the future of artificial intelligence.
The events start later this month, on June 21, with The ASCAP Experience, the performing rights’ organization’s annual event. As part of its full day of programming, ASCAP will include the panel Intelligently Navigating Artificial Intelligence, created to act as a state of the union for music AI, covering both how the technology could change music creation and consumption and how ASCAP is working to address these changes. Panelists include Lucas Cantor (composer, ASCAP Member), Rachel Lyske (CEO of DAACI) and Nicholas Lehman (Chief strategy and digital officer, ASCAP).
On July 19, ASCAP will host a half-day AI Symposium in New York City to dive even deeper into challenges and opportunities. Details of the event’s speakers will be announced soon.
In addition to the summer’s educational initiatives, the PRO is continuing ASCAP Lab Challenge, a fund started in 2019 to power innovation in music. In the past, ASCAP Lab has run an accelerator program in partnership with the NYC Media Lab, led by the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, exploring new technologies such as the metaverse, augmented reality, spatial audio and computer vision and helping to incubate more than a dozen startups and university research projects.
This year, ASCAP Lab Challenge is focusing on AI, funding five startups that are looking to change the music industry in a positive way. As part of its investment, ASCAP will work alongside these recipients for 12 weeks to guide the development of their products and ensure they can benefit music creators.
Included in the 2023 Lab Challenge class is DAACI, a generative AI model that composes and arranges scores, particularly for video games and virtual reality; Infinite Album, a generative AI company that creates copyright-safe video game music that can react to game play in real time; Overture Games, a company which creates video games designed to encourage musicians to practice and avoid burnout using AI-powered pitch detection and visual feedback, gamifying the music education experience; Samplifi, which isolates auditory information for the benefit of hearing-impaired musicians; and Sounds.Studio, created by Never Before Heard Sounds, a browser-based music production platform that uses AI to help musicians create faster with tools like stem splitting, vocal conversion, timbre transfer and more.
Just two days before the 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner, the organization announced that “for personal reasons,” Snoop Dogg has deferred his induction. However, the artist born Calvin Broadus Jr. intends to be inducted with the class of 2024 on June 13, 2024.
Snoop is the second of the seven songwriters who were originally announced as inductees on Jan. 13 to back out. Sade Adu also withdrew, with the SHOF saying only that she will be inducted with a future class.
The five other inductees who were announced five months ago – Glen Ballard, Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lynne, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose – are still onboard. In addition, Tim Rice will be honored with the Johnny Mercer Award, the organization’s highest honor. Post Malone will receive the Hal David Starlight Award, which “was established to honor gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs,” according to the SHOF.
The 52nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner is slated for Thursday at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
The SHOF also announced that Louis Bell, Jacob Dickey, Emilio Estefan, Sasha Estefan, Doug E. Fresh, Myles Frost, Heather Headley, Alan Menken, Valerie Simpson, Keith Sweat and Joe Walsh, among others, will either present and/or perform at the event.
Menken and Rice shared an Oscar for best original song and a Grammy for song of the year for their ballad “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Emilio Estefan is Gloria Estefan’s husband. Sasha is their 10-year-old grandson. Frost won a Tony last year for his performance as Michael Jackson in MJ. Riley worked with the superstar on such tracks as “Remember the Time.” Riley also worked with Keith Sweat on his 1992 hit “Why Me Baby?” (featuring LL Cool J).
Many of the other presenters and performers also have ties to the inductees and honorees.
There are approximately 400 inductees in the Hall of Fame. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.
Concord Music Publishing has signed Lindsay Ell to a worldwide publishing administration deal, which includes a selection of Ell’s future works. The Calgary-born country-pop artist is no stranger to the Billboard charts. Her album The Project (2017) reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and her song “What Happens in a Small Town” with Brantley Gilbert peaked at No. 53 on the Hot 100.
Jamie Hartman — the songwriter/producer behind hits by Lewis Capaldi, Calvin Harris, Rag’n’Bone Man as well as a number of songs for film and tv — has sold “the majority of [his] back catalog royalties” to hundreds of his songs, published by Reservoir Media, to Cutting Edge Media Music (CEMM). A UK-based acquirer of film/tv music rights, CEMM’s deal with Hartman marks a foray into the pop music catalog market.
Big Machine Music, a subsidiary of HYBE America, has extended its deals with Laura Veltz, Jessie Jo Dillon and Maddie & Tae. Each of the acts have had a longstanding relationship with BMM, spanning over a decade or more.
Panela Rec Portugal — a global music and entertainment company with offices in Portugal, Brazil and the US — has partnered with BMG Spain to administer and co-publish its catalog. Through its new arrangement, Panela Rec hopes to create new economic opportunities for Portuguese-speaking musicians and to join it more with the Spanish and Latin American markets as well.
Willis Wonderland Foundation has announced its inaugural Next Level Songwriters Workshop. Created in partnership with Primary Wave Music, the camp begins in early June and will focus on providing an inclusive environment for next generation songwriters, particularly women and those from underrepresented groups, to create side by side. The event caries on the legacy of songwriter Allee Willis, who penned songs like “September” “Boogie Wonderland” the Friends theme song, and other hits over a decades-long career. The program will be coordinated by songwriter Autumn Rowe with additional mentorship from Lindy Robbins, Stephen Bray, Shari Short, Shane Stevens, and Elev3n.
Wise Music Group has forged an agreement for the printed music of UK-based classical publisher Faber Music. The move is part of a larger push for Wise to be a world leader in classical music and it follows news in April that the company had purchased a controlling stake in Edition Peters Group as well.
Peermusic has signed British artist and songwriter Karl Michael to an exclusive co-publishing agreement. He is best known for penning songs like “Can We Dance” by The Vamps, “Beautiful Me” by Dappy, and for his appearance on The Voice UK.
Anthem Entertainment, a leading independent publisher, has expanded its partnership with Timbaland, the company announced Wednesday (June 7). Under the new arrangement, Anthem has extended its publishing deal with the songwriter/producer while promising to build on their co-publishing venture, Blue Stone. The company has also invested in Timbaland’s startup, Beatclub. As part of the newly […]
This month the music industry is flocking to New York. Though it has always been one of the industry’s biggest capitals, the New York City mayor’s office of media and entertainment has coined June New York Music Month, complete with its own hashtag (#NYMusicMonth), in celebration for its history of musical excellence. Longtime events like Songwriters Hall of Fame, which will honor talents like Snoop Dogg and Liz Rose, will continue this year as always, but the city has also added more events like Anti Social Camp, a 100-session songwriting camp designed to “reinvigorate” the New York scene, to draw in more musicians and music executives than ever.
No week this June is more bustling than June 12-16, which, depending on who you ask, goes by a variety of nicknames. Dubbed “Publishers’ Week,” “Songwriters’ Week,” or “Indie Week,” the week will be a particular high point of celebration and schmoozing in the city that never sleeps.
See below for a list of events around the city:
United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Music Visionary of the Year Celebration (June 7)
This annual luncheon, held in Ziegfeld Ballroom, is one of the first events to kick off a packed musical month for New York City. A fundraiser for UJA’s efforts — supporting Holocaust survivors, combating poverty and providing care for those with mental and physical health needs — its Music Visionary of the Year luncheon is a celebration of the music business and some of its most astute leaders. This year’s event will be emceed by Grammy-winning artist Jon Batiste and will honor Amazon’s vice president of audio, Twitch and games, Steve Boom.
NYMM Conference (June 7)
Presented by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the NYU Steinhardt Music Business Program, this year’s annual NYMM Conference (at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum) will feature speed talks, panels and other chats with more than 40 of New York’s music industry experts. Panels throughout the day are set to include a Web3-focused chat with Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, a panel celebrating 50 years of hip-hop with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, and a state-of-the-industry panel featuring A2IM’s Richard James Burges and the RIAA’s Mitch Glazier, among others.
She Is The Music Camp (June 9-11)
She Is The Music, one of the music industry’s leading gender inclusivity efforts, is hosting a songwriting camp in New York City to connect and empower young women and non-binary songwriters and producers and create a safe space for them to connect. Curated by Archana Gopal and Cassidy Murphy and sponsored by Guayaki Yerba Mate, the camp will take place at Kensaltown East Studios all weekend long. Some of the participants include Hayes Warner, Sam Short, Simone, Olivia Reid, and more.
Anti Social Camp (June 12-17)
Founded during the height of the pandemic, Anti Social Camp goes far beyond that of a traditional songwriting camp. Featuring 100 sessions, 150 partnered artists, and a slew of major brands and music businesses already signed on, Anti Social Camp is a week-long songwriting extravaganza stretching out over the entire city. Most of the events are private to the songwriters and artists already participating, but its opening ceremony and industry showcase, both on June 12, are available for the public to enjoy.
American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) Indie Week (June 13-15)
A2IM Indie Week is back again this year with a three days of programming, featuring panels held some of the most dominate independent businesses in music and a number of networking opportunities. Held at the InterContinental in Times Square, panel topics include the best methods for artist royalty collection, the changing state of A&R, the rise of regional Mexican music, and more. The conference kicks off on June 12 with an opening night party, presented by ADA.
Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Global Summit (June 13)
Since 2017, the Association of Independent Music Publishers gathers in New York for a day-long event, specially designed to act as a touch-base for the indie publishing sector in particular. This year, the well-attended event, which is held at the 3 West Club, will feature panels and keynote addresses from some of the industry’s aforemost leaders.
TJ Martell Honors Gala (June 13)
The TJ Martell New York Honors Gala brings the music industry together in its fight to find treatment and a cure for cancer. The foundation was established in 1975 by music industry executive, Tony Martell, as a promise to his son T.J., who later lost his battle with leukemia, that he would raise $1 million for child’s cancer research. Since then, the foundation has raised over $250 million. This year’s event will honor Warner Records’ Tom Corson, Def Jam’s Archie Davis, and Grammy-winning songwriter/producer Shane McAnally, and feature Omar Apollo, Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Groban and more.
National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) Annual Meeting (June 14)
Known as a critical touch-base for the music publishing industry and as a stage for major announcements from the NMPA’s CEO and President, David Israelite, the NMPA Annual Meeting attracts publishing executives from around the world. In the past, the event has been the stage for the trade organization to announce major legal actions, including the NMPA’s copyright infringement suit against Roblox, announced in 2021. The event also honors top songwriters, with this year’s key awards going to Brandi Carlile and Ashley Gorley. Warner Music Group CEO, Robert Kyncl, will also stop by for a keynote conversation.
Libera Awards (June 15)
The Libera Awards are held each year at the end of A2IM’s Indie Week, designed to honor the achievements of independent musicians. This year, Wet Leg leads the tally with six nominations followed by Sudan Archives, Allison Russell, Fontaines D.C., and Soul Glo with three each. This year’s award show will take place at the historic Town Hall in New York.
Songwriters’ Hall of Fame (June 15)
A star studded event honoring music’s greatest songwriters of all time, the Songwriters Hall of Fame is a can’t-miss event. Now in its 52nd year, the awards dinner will induct Glen Ballard, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lynne, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose into the Hall of Fame. Tim Rice will receive the Johnny Mercer Award, the organization’s highest honor. The event will also honor Post Malone with its Hal David Starlight Award, an honor created for younger songwriters who have impacted the industry already.
Reservoir Media on Wednesday reported that revenues grew by 13% during its most recent fiscal year, as investments in record labels and artists rights in the Middle East added to its growth from acquiring works by North American artists like Louis Prima and Dion.
Reservoir reported $122.3 million in revenue for their fiscal year 2023 ending March 31, driven by a 9% increase in music publishing revenue and an 18% increase in recorded music revenue, both helped by the digital release of De La Soul‘s first six studio albums in early March. The legendary rap trio’s catalog netted 12.5 million U.S. song streams and sold 28,000 albums in its first week streaming, according to Luminate.
Founded in 2007, Reservoir said it grew by 8% organically and finished at the top-end of its financial targets in fiscal 2023 despite a 1%-decline in fourth quarter revenue driven by lower performance, sync and other revenues in its music publishing division, which suffered from a tough comparison to a strong year-ago quarter.
Fourth quarter music publishing revenue of $23.2 million was off 8% from the year-ago quarter when Reservoir benefitted from a one-off event in Dubai. Recorded music revenue in the quarter rose 10% to $10.8 million, in part due to the outsized performance of De la Soul’s catalog.
Reservoir has made investing in emerging markets a key prong of its growth and diversification strategy, and on a call with analysts, Reservoir CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi referred to it as “highly important to our overall strategy … as we work to become the largest holder of Arabic music copyrights.”
With its partner PopArabia, an independent music company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, Reservoir has acquired stakes in the Egyptian label 100COPIES, the Lebanese label and music publisher Voice of Beirut and signed publishing deals with Egypt’s Mohamed Ramadan, Lebanon’s Zeid Hamdan and Moroccan hip-hop star 7liwa. In January, Reservoir announced signed publishing deals for the catalogs and future works of Indian rappers MC Altaf and D’Evil and the producer Stunnah Beatz.
Funds like Reservoir also grow inorganically through acquisitions of song catalogs, and over its past fiscal year it acquired rights by “the Saxophone Colossus” Sonny Rollins and Dion, best known for “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer.”
Reservoir’s chief financial officer Jim Heindlmeyer told analysts that the company expects 6% revenue growth f 9% growth for adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for this fiscal year, compared to midpoint of its 2023 guidance ranges.
“Our outlook includes strong top-line growth expectations and margin expansion across our business segments as we continue to see a positive impact on profitability from our strategic acquisitions and benefit from secular tailwinds across the music industry,” Heindlemeyer said.
Rod Stewart has backed out of a potential catalog sale to Hipgnosis after two years worth of negotiations with the company, a representative for the singer told Billboard.
Citing that he wanted to retain the ownership of his song catalog, Stewart said in a statement, “this catalog represents my life’s work. And it’s became abundantly clear after much time and due diligence that this was not the right company to manage my song catalog, career or legacy.”
Hipgnosis declined Billboard’s requests for comment, citing a non-disclosure agreement.
Further details about the potential catalog sale are not known, including whether he intended to sell his full catalog or just a smaller piece or royalty stream. Stewart’s team declined to comment further on the deal when asked for specifics.
Two music asset buyers independently noted to Billboard that Stewart’s public statement might be a “great way to drum up business for the catalog” and “to generate calls from potential suitors,” but another source noted it seems that a star of this magnitude would not need to speak out publicly in order to gain the attention of other buyers.
A two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Stewart is one of the most celebrated and recognizable singers in pop music history. Some of his greatest hits across his more than five-decade career include “Maggie May,” “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright),” “All for Love,” “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” “Baby Jane,” “Forever Young,” “One More Time,” and more. He first rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer for Jeff Beck’s post-Yardbirds effort The Jeff Beck Group and later as frontman for Faces, alongside fellow Beck alum Ronnie Wood.
By 1971, the raspy-toned singer had become a household name with his own solo album Every Picture Tells A Story and its surprise radio hit “Maggie May” which went on to simultaneously top the charts in the UK, US, Canada and Australia. From there, through the 1970s and 1980s, Stewart remained one of the mainstays on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, continuing to earn hits as he experimented with daring elements of glam, disco, new wave, synth pop and more in his work.
His impact on music has continued into the 21st century, though mainly through covers. In the early 2000s, he found renewed success though a series of albums mining American pop standards and since then has released collections focusing on soul, rock classics and more, further cementing his legacy as one of music’s great vocalists.
Beyond landmark deals that have helped it amass a catalog of over 65,000 songs and records, Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the portion of the Merck Mercuriadis-founded company that is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, has struggled since last summer, with its share price declining by 27% from a year ago to 81.85 pence. “I’m not going to pretend that the current share price is anything other than disappointing,” Mercuriadis told investors in December. SONG reported its 2022 revenues rose 7.5% over the year prior.
With few levers to pull to grow Hipgnosis Songs Fund — the fund has been fully invested, meaning it has no additional funds to acquire new rights, for more than a year — Mercuriadis has struck deals with companies like Timbaland’s Beatclub to open up Hipgnosis’s catalog to more synch and sample opportunities.
Hipgnosis’ Blackstone-backed fund does not disclose its financials. While heightened macroeconomic concerns and interest rates have increased investor scrutiny for big-ticket deals, Hipgnosis and Blackstone have so far acquired rights to Justin Bieber’s catalog for an estimated $200 million in the last year. Other recent deals for Hipgnosis in general include songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. and TMS, the British songwriting trio behind hits like “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi.
With reporting by Elizabeth Dilts Marshall
Primary Wave Music has acquired Skillet‘s music publishing interests as well as their recorded music royalties across five of their critically acclaimed albums, released from 2003-2016, in a multi-million dollar deal. Some of their biggest hits include “Whispers in the Dark,” “Awake and Alive,” “Feel Invincible,” “Monster,” “Hero,” and “The Resistance.”
Big Yellow Dog Music has signed BSAMZ (Brandon Sammons) to its publishing roster. With more than a decade of experience as a co-writer with artists like Lady Gaga, Kygo, Bryce Vine, Adam Lambert, Culture Club, Sam Feldt and many more, BSAMZ is still continuing to write hits, most recently with K-Pop group Girls’ Generation’s “You Think” off of their No. 1 album Lion Heart.
Reservoir has signed singer, rapper, and songwriter Armani White to his first-ever global publishing deal. The agreement entails both the artists’ back catalog and future works, including his viral hit “BILLIE EILISH” which reached No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Peermusic has signed singer-songwriter Alejo to an exclusive worldwide publishing deal. The deal encompasses all of the Puerto Rican artist’s catalog, including his new album El Favorito de las Nenas, released on May 4. The deal also includes his hit songs “Pantysito” with Feid and Robi; “Un Viaje” alongside Karol G, Jotaerre and Moffa; “Volar” by Wisin, Chris Andrew ft. Los Legendarios; and “Estrella” with boy band CNCO.
Warner Chappell Music has signed a global publishing deal with Canada-based country act Josh Ross. Named a Spotify Hot Country Artist to Watch for 2023, Ross has been building his profile with key opening slots, supporting talent like Bailey Zimmerman Nickelback, Lee Brice, Chase Rice, Brantley Gilbert.
Wise Music Group has signed a deal with DJ and producer Ron Trent. With almost 30 years of experience in the dance/electronic space, Trent first became acclaimed as a DJ with the release of Altered States at age 15. Under his new project WARM, Trent is still continuing to release enduring electronic works.
The Copyright Royalty Board issued a landmark determination Tuesday (May 23) for Phonorecords III, maintaining an up to 44% raise for U.S. songwriters and publishers’ headline rate for mechanicals by the end of the period of 2018 to 2022.
The ruling increases those royalties each year during the five-year period — from 11.4% to 15.1% of service revenue by 2022 — but also affirmed key requests from streaming services during their lengthy appeal, limiting royalties based on total content cost (TCC) and reinstating a rate ceiling step in the formula. While the document is restricted from public viewing, an appendix to that determination containing the regulations at the heart of the restricted document was released to the public Wednesday (May 24).
To calculate how much is owed to songwriters and publishers, streaming services use a complex, multi-pronged formula dependent on numerous considerations. Many of these elements were revealed prior to the release of this week’s documents, so while it is noteworthy that the board is now in the last stages of finalizing the rules for Phono III after an appeal by digital services in 2019 was remanded back to the CRB, this determination cements what was previously reported. It has been described in the past as a “mixed decision” by insiders, with some stipulations favoring the interests of the music business while others favor streaming services.
Proceedings to decide how to pay songwriters and publishers for U.S. mechanicals during 2018-2022 began over five years ago. In 2018, a CRB determination set the headline rate moving upwards from 10.5% of a streamer’s revenue in 2018 to 15.1% in 2022 and increased the subscriber count calculations for discounted family and student plans to 1.5 times and 0.5 times respectively.
The 2018 determination also removed the publishing rate ceiling mechanism that prevents the publishers from automatically benefiting with higher payments when their label counterparts are able to negotiate higher rates for their master recordings. This was one of many qualms streamers had with this determination, given that many details were especially favorable to the music business. Spotify, Pandora, Google and Amazon noted then that they felt the board “acted arbitrarily and capriciously by simultaneously combining a TCC prong with an increase in the percentages of revenue prong, [or ‘headline rate’].”
Because some of the digital services hoped to regain some of the more streamer-friendly stipulations from the previous period — Phono II — Spotify, Pandora, Google and Amazon launched an appeal that was successful and resulted in a “remand” process that dragged on until now — after the 2018-2022 period was over. Apple, notably, did not participate in the appeal.
The new Phono III determination upholds the previous headline rate of up to 15.1% of streamer’s revenue by 2022, increasing each year by a full percentage point or by 0.9 of a percentage point, similar to how it was determined in 2018. This detail was revealed by the board in July 2022, as Billboard reported at the time. It also upholds the subscriber count calculations of 1.5 times for discounted family and 0.5 times for student plans, as proposed in 2019.
The appeal did, however, result in a few key wins for streaming services. It also reinstalled a rate cap of 80 cents per subscriber. Namely, the appeal lowered the total content cost calculations — which limits songwriter and publisher payouts to a percentage of what is paid to labels — from what the board determined in 2018.
While the music business was hoping for a TCC rate of 26.2%, the streaming services requested and received a range of different rates depending on the offerings, from the lesser of 20.65% of TCC up to 22% of TCC.
The U.S. mechanical royalty owed to music publishers and songwriters is calculated based on choosing between either the royalties calculated using the headline rate; or the lesser of either the percentage of TCC or 80 cents per subscriber. Whichever of the two pools is greater is selected as what’s known as the “all-in pool.” Afterward, the performance royalties are subtracted from the all-in pool, leaving just the mechanicals behind. The mechanicals are then measured against a per-subscriber pool, and whichever is bigger becomes the final mechanical royalty pool paid out to publishers and songwriters.
The most important TCC percentage rate for Phono III, the rate for standalone portable subscriptions, is 21% of TCC against 80 cents per subscriber.
Since the all-in royalty rates for this prong of the formula are determined based on the greater of the two options — either the headline rate or the lesser of the TCC pool or an 80 cents per subscriber calculation — it is feasible that the TCC rate will not be employed in certain future situations.
In the past, this prong of the formula has helped publishers get a percentage above the headline rate. For example, in 2021, when most services had reverted to the 2013-2017 term headline rate of 10.5%, the multi-pronged formula helped yield an all-in 13.4% of service revenue for publishing royalties.
Participants in the remand included the National Music Publishers’ Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International, songwriter George Johnson — who personally fought back against the streaming services on behalf of the independent songwriter in self-filed court documents — Spotify, Pandora, Google and Amazon.
Next, there is a 15-day window for rehearing motions. Then the Copyright Office will conduct a legal review for error, which could take up to 60 days. After that, the determination will be fully published, giving streaming services and the music business six months to go review and adjust past payments made for U.S. mechanicals to the new rates for 2018-2022 — a process that will likely be a financial boost for the music business.
Still, after this determination is published, the parties will have the opportunity to file a notice of appeal for 30 days.
“We are pleased the court finally has confirmed the result of Phono 3, a case which was decided in 2018. This initial remand decision upholds the 15.1% headline rate increase we fought for, however the length of time we have waited for this decision proves the Copyright Royalty Board system is woefully flawed. Now songwriters have some certainty about their rates, and we will ensure they receive the hundreds of millions of dollars that digital streaming companies owe them during this adjustment period,” said David Israelite, president/CEO of the NMPA.
“The testimonies of the three songwriter witnesses in this trial were powerful, convincing and illustrated the difficulty of songwriters earning a living in the streaming era — as well as the importance and value of the composition in the commercial music process,” said Bart Herbison, executive director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).
“Steve Bogard, Liz Rose and Lee Miller, all NSAI board members, were moving and informative and played a huge role in the historic increase,” Herbison added. “The process is long and difficult requiring time and preparation. We are thankful to these songwriters and to the NMPA.”
Michael Abels is having a banner month. Eight days after winning the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music along with collaborator Rhiannon Giddens for their opera Omar, Abels won the Composers’ Choice award for film score of the year at the 2023 ASCAP Screen Music Awards. The awards were presented at an invitation-only party in West Hollywood, Calif., on Tuesday (May 16).
The Composers’ Choice award winners are chosen by the ASCAP composer and songwriter community. Abels won for his score to Jordan Peele’s film Nope. His score was shortlisted for an Oscar for best original score in December but failed to make the final five.
Abels, 60, has scored all three of Peele’s film to date as a director – Get Out (2017), Us (2019) and Nope (2022), plus other films. He received two Primetime Emmy nods two years ago for his work on the HBO film Allen v. Farrow.
Cristobal Tapia de Veer was a double Composers’ Choice winner for his work on the HBO series The White Lotus. He took television theme of the year and shared the award for television score of the year with Kim Neundorf. de Veer won two Primetime Emmys in September for his work on the show.
Bear McCreary took video game score of the year for God of War Ragnarök.
There was a tie for documentary score of the year. The winners were Amanda Jones for Super/Natural and Jeff Cardoni for Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off.
Those five Composers’ Choice awards were part of the full slate of 2023 ASCAP Screen Music Awards, which honored music written for films, TV series and video games.
Simon Franglen won top box office film of the year for his score to the James Cameron blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water. Franglen’s score was shortlisted for an Oscar for best original score, but like Nope, failed to make the final five.
Among the top streaming films winners, John Debney was honored for his score to Hocus Pocus 2 while Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Khiyon Hursey, Mark Sonnenblick and Sukari Jones were celebrated for their collaborative work on the hit musical comedy Spirited.
Top streaming series winners include Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein for the Netflix series Stranger Things, Natalie Holt for the live-action Star Wars project Obi-Wan Kenobi and Siddhartha Khosla for Hulu’s hit comedy-drama Only Murders in the Building. Khosla received two Primetime Emmy nods last year for his work on the show.
David Vanacore was named the most-performed themes and underscore winner for his work on shows including Survivor, The Kardashians and The Daily Show. Composers Matthew Hawkins, Maurice “m.0.” Jackson and Neil Martin won top network television series for their main theme for NCIS, while John Sereda received top cable television series for his music in the historical drama When Calls the Heart.
The complete list of winners is available on the ASCAP website.
.