--
It is also an ideal opportunity, urges Iossa, to meet ASCAP staffers and songwriters who bring a wealth of experience and contacts to the sessions, “These include board members and ASCAP executives in membership; typically, heads of the genre areas. They have very broad knowledge, so they’re often the perfect people to guide songwriters and composers to whom they should be meeting, both at the EXPO and outside the event.”
For her One-on-One Session, singer-songwriter Neara Russell tells MC that she requested a meeting with a music publisher to determine if the songs from her CD Noise and Silence would be suitable for film and television placements. She was paired up with publishing executive Mark Friedman, who’s currently Senior VP of Creative for Verse Music Group, and a former executive at RSP and Chrysalis Music. “I came it with specific questions, and two or three songs, that I especially wanted his thoughts on. Mark ended up listening to my whole album, skipping through each track, and he gave me really good feedback,” Russell recalls.
Defining herself as an electro-pop indie artist, Russell says that she was interested to know if her music might be “too out there” for placements. “My mentor was really supportive,” the artist recalls. “He said that to be unique in licensing is a really good thing and he encouraged me to keep writing and developing my own sound.”
Russell says that one of the over-arching themes of the EXPO is the power of genuine music. “And that the more original and well-defined you are, the easier it will be to find a place for yourself.” Paul Williams concurs: “Let us hear who you are. Be authentic.” His experiences with the One- on-Ones are first hand: he was an ASCAP board member with whom EXPO registrants could meet in these sessions. “Once you get that dialogue going, and sit across from someone and get them to think about their work and their career as something very fluid—instead of defending the choices that have been made—you can have a meaningful discussion.”
Personal contact is key as synchronicity and spiritual serendipity are signposts along the songwriter’s journey. “I will always tell people that, in my life and in my profession, opportunity walked up to me in shoe leather and created expansion,” Williams recalls. “By collaborating with one other human being, you can double the chances of meeting someone who is going to be important in your career. To walk into a room full of your peers, you are immediately expanding with every working relationship.”
The ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO, Williams believes, can provide that boost. “We’ve got a real list of success stories, people who have met publishers and collaborators and have walked away with something that has led to a real turn in their careers.”
EXPO registration is now open. The event welcomes all songwriters, composers and industry professionals, regardless of performing rights affiliation.
Find out more about the EXPO at http://ascap.com. Hear Neara Russell at http://neararussell.com.
