After 15 Years, Marilyn Bergman Steps Down as President and Chairman of ASCAP
Most recently, Bergman played a key role in the launch of A Bill of Rights for Songwriters and Composers, an ASCAP advocacy and awareness-building initiative designed to remind the public, the music industry and Members of Congress of the central role and rights of those who create music.
Bergman was also instrumental in the launch of the ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO, the premier conference for songwriters, composers and producers. The 4th annual EXPO is set to take place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, April 23-25, 2009.
She has also been a strong supporter of educating young people about the creative process and the rights inherent in the creation of music. Programs established under her leadership include:
— “The ASCAP Foundation Children Will Listen Program” — created in honor of ASCAP member and musical theatre great Stephen Sondheim (“West Side Story,” “Gypsy!,” “Pacific Overtures,” “A Little Night Music”) to provide the musical theatre experience to a generation of students who might not otherwise have this opportunity.
— “The ASCAP Foundation Creativity in the Classroom Program” — designed to help students recognize their own creative work, to understand their rights as owners of intellectual property and to respect the ethics of protecting the creative property of others.
— “The Donny the Downloader Experience” in partnership with i-SAFE Inc., the worldwide leader in Internet safety education — an interactive school assembly program aimed at educating middle school students on what it means to be a music creator and the real cost of music piracy.
— “The Junior ASCAP Members (J.A.M.) Program” in partnership with MENC: The National Association for Music Education — created to support and nurture music students, and to educate them on the value of music and the importance of intellectual property rights.
She also supported the development of The ASCAP Foundation/Lilith Fair Songwriting Contest — a national competition designed to encourage unsigned women songwriters, co-sponsored by The ASCAP Foundation and Lilith Fair.
“From the moment she assumed the role of President and Chairman of the Board, Marilyn worked tirelessly on behalf of our membership to the benefit of all music creators,” said John LoFrumento, CEO of ASCAP. “She has been tremendously effective in helping ASCAP anticipate the changing needs of our members — particularly given the immense shifts that have occurred in music, technology and society as a whole over the past decade. I will greatly miss the insights and collaborative spirit that she brought to our working relationship. But I am comforted to know that Marilyn will remain a strong and active presence on our Board of Directors.”
Bergman presided over the largest expansion of ASCAP membership in the history of the organization — growing from 55,000 when she assumed the Presidency in 1994 to a current membership of more than 350,000 music creators.
Her full biography may be viewed here: http://www.ascap.com/about/board/bergman-bio.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 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