As we prepared to exit one century and enter another, Congress passed the "Digital Millennium" Copyright Bill to bring the U.S. into line with World Intellectual Property Organization treaties and the "Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension" Law extended the length of copyright on all works copyrighted on and after January 1, 1923. ASCAP strongly supported this legislation and was highly instrumental in its passage.
The music creators that joined ASCAP in the 2000s reflected the amazing breadth and continued globalization of the ASCAP repertory. From Jay-Z to Yo-Yo Ma, Kenny Chesney to Katy Perry, Marco Antonio Solís to The Killers and Michael Giacchino to M.I.A., ASCAP members were at the forefront of their genres in the new millennium, and even helped to blaze a few new ones.
In 2006, ASCAP founded the ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO, an annual three-day conference in Los Angeles wholly dedicated to educating and inspiring songwriters, composers and producers. The EXPO attracts thousands of music creators each year. They come to connect with other music makers, and to learn from the EXPO's dozens of panels, workshops, master sessions and interviews. The EXPO always features ASCAP's most high-profile music creators as speakers, alongside a host of leading industry experts. Legends like Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Chaka Khan, Heart, Bon Jovi, Randy Newman, Mary Chapin Carpenter, James Newton Howard, Stephen Schwartz, Ricky Skaggs and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have each shared their stories in EXPO keynote interviews and master sessions. ASCAP is the only PRO to offer an event of this size.
2008 saw the launch of two important new documents: the position paper Music Copyright in the Digital Age and ASCAP's Bill of Rights for Songwriters and Composers. These two forceful documents have gone a long way towards educating people and strengthening our rights as creators, and have called crucial public and Congressional attention to the rights of all music creators. The Bill of Rights has been signed by tens of thousands of ASCAP members all across America.
Today, ASCAP remains a major force in technology, constantly leveraging its power for the benefit of our members. Each year, there are billions of performances of ASCAP music in the more than 100,000 broadcast and live venues we license. Our many innovations have set international standards for performance identification. Currently, Mediaguide, developed by ASCAP, is the world's most comprehensive and accurate tracking system. Mediaguide uses advanced "fingerprinting" technology to monitor performances.
From satellite transmissions to cell phone ring tones to the music we enjoy at our favorite restaurant, wherever there is the public use of music, ASCAP is there to monitor its use. This unparalleled vigilance has helped make ASCAP the largest performing rights organization in the world.
Because ASCAP is member-owned, we are deeply responsive and accessible to all of our members. ASCAP is a non-profit organization, and among American performing rights organizations, only ASCAP maintains the principles of open books. Only ASCAP elects its Board of Directors from the ranks of its members. And only ASCAP holds general membership meetings.
For nearly a century, from the days of Tin Pan Alley to the age of digital transmission, ASCAP has stayed grounded in the simple principles that were set forth back in the winter of 1914: that the composers and songwriters who create the music that inspires the hearts and souls of millions of listeners be paid for their work. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is continuing to create an enduring legacy, ensuring the limitless future of America's great music.
