SCL Joins the Music Creators of North America Alliance

Fellow SCL members,

I am pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of the Society of Composers & Lyricists has voted to join the Music Creators of North America alliance, alongside the Songwriters Guild of America, the Screen Composers Guild of Canada and the Songwriters Association of Canada.

This, in turn, means the SCL will now be party to the Fair Trade Music agreement which was signed at the recent World Creators Conference in Washington DC by the MCNA, ECSA (European Composer and Songwriters Alliance), CIAM (International Council of Creators of Music), PACSA (Pan African Composers and Songwriters Alliance) and ALCAM (Alliance of Latin American Creators of Music) creating a network of independent alliances.

This association will also give us a voice at CISAC (International Confederation of Authors and Composers) the leading worldwide network of authors’ societies.

Below you will find:

1. the MCNA’s charter

2. the Agreement signed at the conference by the network of independent alliances

3. the Fair Trade Music media release as announced at the conference

4. information about the Global Repertoire Database (GRD)

I urge you to take the time to familiarize yourself with these documents for a better understanding.

There are many issues on the horizon that will directly affect music creators, not the least of which is the impending rewriting of the US Copyright Act, the threat of direct licensing and the implementation of the GRD (Global Repertoire Database).

As the premier organization representing music creators in film, TV and other visual media in the USA, the SCL looks forward to joining with the other members of the MCNA and the larger network of music creators in confronting the licensing and legislative issues as they continue to impact our community.

Sincerely yours,

Ashley Irwin