Nomination period now open for songwriter-member seats of music licensing collective board/committees

The International Council Of Music Creators is sharing this press release on behalf of our songwriting partners in North America. Please direct all inquiries to Jennifer Turnbow at the telephone number or email address listed below.

 

Nashville, Tenn. (November 5, 2018) — Nominations are now open for songwriter-members of the Board of Directors, Unclaimed Funds Committee and Dispute Resolution Committee of the Music Licensing Collective (MLC) to be submitted to the US Copyright Office for approval as established by the recently passed Music Modernization Act. Prospective nominees can be submitted at www.mlcsongwriters.com through 11:59pm CST, December 5, 2018.

Per the statutory requirements of the Music Modernization Act, a new digital music mechanical licensing entity is being formed called the Music Licensing Collective (MLC). By statute, there will be songwriter representatives on the Board of Directors of the Music Licensing Collective (MLC) as well as the Unclaimed Funds Committee and Dispute Resolution Committee. Four (4) self-published songwriters will be selected for the Board of Directors; these positions require that an individual be a professional songwriter who currently controls his/her own publishing.

Additionally, five (5) professional songwriters will be selected for the Unclaimed Funds Committee and three (3) professional songwriters will be selected for the Dispute Resolution Committee. (The only requirement for these positions is that a songwriter be eligible to collect royalties in the US.) American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), Songwriter’s Guild of America (SGA) and Songwriters of North America (SONA) have each named two songwriters to a ten-person selection committee to review nominations, evaluate candidates through a multi-step process and ultimately select songwriters for service to the original Board and Committees of the Music Licensing Collective (MLC) that will then be submitted to the US Copyright Office.

The selection committee members are Steve Bogard (NSAI), Rick Carnes (SGA), Lynn Gillespie Chater (SGA), Dallas Davidson (BMI), Chris DeStefano (NSAI), Bob DiPiero (BMI), Dan Foliart (ASCAP), Adam Gorgoni (SONA), Michelle Lewis (SONA) and Paul Williams (ASCAP).

Direct inquiries to:

Jennifer Turnbow

615-256-3364

jennifer@nashvillesongwriters.com