Music News (4/11/13)

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM) have reached an international agreement with YouTube.

The agreement includes the use of music from SACEM’s repertoire and UMP’s Anglo-American repertoire in videos distributed by YouTube throughout 127 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The new agreement aims to facilitate greater transparency, coordination, and data-sharing between the organizations. It also ensures equitable compensation for rights holders who are entitled to a share of the platform’s revenues.

Read more at MusicRow.com, here.

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Pictured (L-R): are: NaSHOF treasurer Mike Dye; ole CEO Robert Ott, NaSHOF vice chair Ken Paulson, Alger, ole COO Lou Ragagnin and ole CCO Gilles Godard. Photo Credit: Steve Lowry

Board members from the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) were recently gifted with a $50,000 contribution from ole to benefit the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame exhibit.

It has been 40 years in the making but the Songwriters Hall of Fame will finally have a physical home in the new Music City Center. Both open their respective doors in mid-May of this year.

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Twelve active duty military service members and their guests will take part in an opportunity to share their stories with professional songwriters during the SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat at the Cedarbrake Renewal Center in Belton, Texas on April 26-28.

Austin-based songwriter and program creator Darden Smith, along with songwriters Jay Clementi, Darrell Scott and Gary Nicholson, will be paired with military members to create songs based on their combat experience and its effect on them since returning home. All participants will be considered co-writers of their songs and will be registered with ASCAP. The Bob Woodruff Foundation, The ASCAP Foundation, Lockheed Martin, Veterans United Foundation, The Mayerson Foundation and the Charleston Center for Photography have joined SongwritingWith:Soldiers to provide stress relief for returning U.S. service members of Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from Post Traumatic Stress.

Read more at MusicRow.com, here.

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Music publishers Kim Wiggins, Brad Kennard, Kelly King, Jeff Skaggs and Melissa Spillman have formed a new songplugger group, The Independents. Numerous top songwriters are represented by the group including Neil Thrasher, Josh Kear, JT Harding, Jessi Alexander and Jeremy Spillman.

Members of The Independents have placed recent No. 1s “How Country Feels,” “Tornado,” “Better Dig Two” and “Blown Away,” as well as cuts by Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, The Band Perry, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum and Brothers Osborne.

The plugging group will celebrate Independents’ Day Monday, April 15 at 6 p.m. at 3rd & Lindsley, where two songwriters from each publishing company will perform two new, uncut songs for industry attendees.

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Pictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, JT Harding, Katrina Elam, Chris DeStefano, Matt Jenkins and ASCAP’s Robert Filhart

This year’s Tin Pan South got even sweeter for artist-writer Katrina Elam. Elam took part in the ASCAP show recently at the Hard Rock Cafe as part of Tin Pan South. The show took place on April 3, where Elam performed alongside Chris DeStefano, JT Harding and Matt Jenkins.

The performance served as Elam’s announcement of her switch to ASCAP, as well as her recent signing to Words and Music Administration for worldwide representation of her catalog. Elam has had recent success with the ACM-nominated song “Easy,” recorded by Rascal Flatts and Natasha Bedingfield, and “Say Goodnight,” recorded by Eli Young band (co-written by Elam, Melissa Peirce and John Paul White).