Music News (6/20/13)

Patrick Clifford

Patrick Clifford has been named Vice President of Music Publishing and A&R for Disney Music Publishing in Nashville, it was announced June 17 by Mio Vukovic, Disney Music Group’s Sr. VP of A&R and Creative.

In his new post, Clifford is responsible for exploiting the company’s catalog of existing songs, as well as providing creative direction, leadership and growth of the writer roster of Disney Music Publishing. He will also oversee A&R functions for Disney Music Group in Nashville.

Clifford was most recently vice president of A&R for Ten Ten Music Group in Nashville, a post he held since 2005. His career began with artists James Taylor and Cat Stevens at Nemperor Artists, and he discovered and recorded The Romantics at Nemperor Records. He later served in the A&R departments of major labels including Epic, A&M, Chrysalis and Capitol, working with the Miami Sound Machine, Blues Traveler and the Neville Brothers. Later, as a senior A&R executive with BMG he worked with scores of important artists, from Etta James to Ziggy Marley.

Read more at MusicRow.com.

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David Israelite has accepted a contract extension to continue his role as the National Music Publishers’ Association‘s President and CEO through 2018. Israelite has served as President and CEO since February 2005.

Irwin Z. Robinson, Chairman of the NMPA Board of Directors, said Israelite’s tireless effort on behalf of creators and music publishers merited the organization’s commitment to retaining its CEO.

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The Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Nashville Chapter held its first biannual elections last week, electing the 2013-2014 officers and board of directors.

Officers Elected:
Executive Director—Marc Driskill, Sea Gayle Music
Secretary—Denise Nichols, The Primacy Firm
Treasurer—Ree Guyer Buchanan, Wrensong

Directors Elected:
Craig Currier, peermusic
Kim McCollum-Mele, Words & Music
Michael Martin, ASCAP
Randy Wachtler, 615 Music
Tim Fink, SESAC

Alternate Directors Elected:
David Preston, BMI
John Allen, BMG/Chrysalis

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Performing rights organization SESAC has inked a two-year licensing deal with Discovery Communications, LLC. The new deal will authorize the network’s access to SESAC’s repertoire for its numerous channels and programs.

The Discovery Communications networks encompass a range of channels including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Science Channel, Military Channel, Oprah Winfrey Network and Discovery Fit & Health and features a variety of reality and true crime programs including Who the Bleep Did I Marry, Stolen Voices/Buried Secrets, Nightmare Next Door, Say Yes To The Dress, Cake Boss and Moonshiners.

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Parallel Music Publishing has acquired about 2000 songs from the Songs of Bigger Picture catalog. Among the copyrights in the purchase are recent No. 1s “Better Dig Two,” “Mama’s Broken Heart” and “Til My Last Day.”

Included in the transaction are songs penned by notable Nashville writers Brandy Clark, Brian D. Maher, Josh Osborne and Brice Long. Additionally, songwriters Michael White and Lance Carpenter have joined the Parallel Music Publishing team.

Songs of Bigger Picture is still active as the publishing division of Bigger Picture Group. Bigger Picture Artist Ventures remains home to Chris Cagle, Craig Campbell, Chris Janson, Rachel Bradshaw, and Ryan Kinder. 

Tim Hunze is managing partner of Parallel Music Publishing, which is part of Los Angeles based talent management and production company Parallel Entertainment. Headed by CEO J.P. Williams, Parallel is known for work with the Blue Collar Comedy and Larry The Cable Guy brands including feature films, DVD premiere features, comedy and music albums, and television series and specials. It most recently worked on MTV’s Buck Wild. Upcoming projects include the CMT animated series Bounty Hunters and a drama for TNT starring Bill Engvall.

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Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) filed an action in New York City on June 13 asking the Federal Rate Court to set royalty fees for internet radio service Pandora on behalf of the organization’s 600,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, the performing rights organization (PRO) said in a statement. The action asks the court to set reasonable, market driven fees for Pandora after negotiations did not result in an agreement.

This comes after Pandora recently signed an agreement to purchase Rapid City, S.D. radio station KXMZ-FM, a small-market Hot AC format broadcast radio station. The strategic purchase is reportedly a way for the company to qualify for Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC) agreements regarding royalties and public performances of musical works from the PROs.

Josh Kear

In related news, four-time Grammy-winner and six-time No. 1 songwriter Josh Kear responded on June 13 to Pandora’s recent op-ed piece by Christopher Harrison. The full text of Kear’s response can be found below and on The Hill’s website here:

As a songwriter and ASCAP member, I found the recent opinion piece by Pandora’s assistant general counsel (“Why Pandora bought an FM radio station,” 6/11/13) to be long on rhetoric but short on facts.

Unlike Pandora, ASCAP is a nonprofit membership organization that collects and distributes royalties to the hundreds of thousands of songwriters, composers and music publishers it represents. Members like me depend on ASCAP to negotiate fair deals on our behalf, so we can earn a living as more listeners discover and enjoy our music across a wide variety of platforms, including Internet radio.

Savvy readers will note a mere four percent of Pandora’s total revenue is spent on licensing public performance rights from songwriters and composers. That means we make a fraction of a cent every time one of our songs streams on Pandora’s service — while the company’s founder has cashed out more than $15 million in stock since the company went public. And yet we’re supposed to be excited that Pandora has now bought an FM radio station, because it will allow the company to pay the songwriters and composers who fuel their entire business even less than a fraction of a penny? It’s hard to follow that logic. Harder still to see how the FCC, which has to approve the sale, would find such a clearly self-serving purchase to be in the public interest.

I like streaming music online as much as the next guy. And I certainly appreciate the opportunities it creates for me as an artist to reach new listeners. But Pandora is misleading readers by claiming to be on the side of artists, when its recent actions firmly prove otherwise. Shame on us if we let them continue the charade.