Academy Award-winning lyricist's 15 year tenure leaves to her successor a strong legacy of advocacy, education and growth
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Marilyn Bergman |
On April 8, three-time Academy Award-winning songwriter Marilyn Bergman announced her decision to step down as President and Chairman of the Board of ASCAP. Her successor, songwriter Paul Williams, was elected by the ASCAP Board of Directors at their subsequent meeting in Nashville on April 16 (see story on page 8).
Bergman was the first woman to be elected to the ASCAP Board of Directors and was named President and Chairman of the Board in 1994. She will continue to serve as an active Board Member.
Commenting on her decision, Bergman said: "I am grateful to have had the honor of serving as the President and Chairman of ASCAP for 15 years, and am exceedingly proud of all that was accomplished during my tenure. I will continue to be a passionate advocate for all music creators through my work on the ASCAP Board of Directors. But in terms of the Presidency itself, I see that now is the right time to step down."
Bergman noted that she and her writing partner and husband, songwriter Alan Bergman, have a number of new projects in the works which require her focus. The Bergmans have just completed work on Steven Soderbergh's film, The Informant , with composer Marvin Hamlisch, and are currently working on two musical theatre projects, one with Marvin and one with composer Michel Legrand.
Bergman's 15-year tenure as President and Chairman of the Board of ASCAP was marked by a series of noteworthy achievements. As a passionate voice for the rights of music creators, Bergman has a strong presence on Capitol Hill. She helped lead ASCAP to several major legislative victories, including most notably the Supreme Court's decision in 2003 to uphold the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, which extended copyright protection an extra 20 years – to the life of the author plus 70 years. Other legislative highlights include:
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Helming ASCAP through the modernization of the Federal consent decree that governs ASCAP's operations.
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Leading ASCAP's lobbying effort that helped secure the passage and signing of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998 – bringing the U.S. into line with World Intellectual Property Organization treaties and strengthening music copyrights on the Internet.
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Serving on the National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIIAC) from 1994 to 1995, at the request of Vice President Al Gore.
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Serving two terms (from 1994 to 1998) as President of CISAC, the International Confederation of Performing Right Societies.
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 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 took place in Los Angeles in April.
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:
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"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.
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"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.
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"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.
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"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.
"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 ASCAP CEO John LoFrumento. "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 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 its history – growing from 55,000 when she assumed the Presidency in 1994 to a current membership of more than 350,000 music creators.
