Annual Membership Meeting 2014

In the 2014 Annual Membership Meeting, the SCL reviewed our involvement in legislative issues that directly affect composers and songwriters. This work forged extensive alliances with like organizations both here and overseas, and in so doing, achieved some outstanding results. The meeting features the chief executives from some of those organizations, sharing why they believe our continued allegiance is so important.

Panelists:

Eddie Schwartz is best known for writing such classic hit songs as “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” recorded by Pat Benatar, “Don’t Shed A Tear” by Paul Carrack, and “The Doctor” by the Doobie Brothers, as well as producing the Doobie Brothers’ “Cycles” album, Paul Carrack’s “Groove Approved”, Rita Coolidge’s “Fire Me Back”, as well as a his own recordings as an artist. His worldwide physical sales are currently in excess of 65 million units. A native of Toronto, Eddie has won numerous music industry awards including multiple JUNO, BMI, and SOCAN awards, including SOCAN’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement award. He serves as President of the Songwriters Association of Canada, Co-Chair of Music Creators North America and the Executive committee of CIAM, CISAC’s music creator arm, was a longstanding director of SOCAN, and is a graduate of the renown Leadership Music program in Nashville. In late 2012 Eddie was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

Nashville songwriter Rick Carnes has earned 40 platinum albums with songs recorded by artists Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Alabama, Steve Wariner, Pam Tillis, and Dean Martin. His song, “I Can’t Even Get the Blues No More” was Reba McEntire’s first number one single, and “Long Neck Bottle” recorded by Garth Brooks, set a record on the Billboard charts by entering the charts at #10. Rick and his wife, Janis, recorded for RCA, Elektra Asylum, Warner Bros. and MCA records and also co-wrote three top ten recordings on Bluegrass icons, the Whites, as well as penning the jazz ballad, “Irresistible”, and the swing song, “I’m Hanging’ Around”, which was recorded by Dean Martin. In 2003 Rick was elected President of the Songwriters Guild of America. In 2004 he was elected a Vice President of the National Music Council, and in 2012 he became co-chairman of Music Creators North America.

Marvin Dolgay’s critically acclaimed, multi award-winning scores, themes and songs have been featured in well over 1,500 television episodes, movies and specials that have been broadcast on most major networks in North America and worldwide. He has been music director for many live tours and created hundreds of advertising campaigns, which have also won major national and international awards. As Marvin continues his professional life as a music creator and producer, he is currently serving his second term as president of The Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC), co-chairing the Canadian Creators Coalition, and chairing the composers’ caucus for the Directors Guild of Canada. He is also very proud to be able to say that he is a founding member of Music Creators North America.

Charles J. Sanders is engaged in private legal practice in New York City, representing numerous music industry clients including the Songwriters Guild of America, StarClub, Ltd., the Native American Music Association, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He is a member of the bars of New York, California, Washington, D.C. and the United States Supreme Court. Sanders has served as an adjunct professor in the NYU Graduate Music Business Program for over fifteen years. He also served as counsel to the National Music Publishers’ Association and its licensing subsidiary, The Harry Fox Agency, for nearly two decades. During that period, Sanders participated in policy-making and legislative advocacy on virtually every major issue faced by the international music industry and helped oversee the distribution of over $4 billion in royalty income to songwriters and music publishers. Among Sanders’ other music industry activities, he is a platinum award-winning record producer, a saxophone player with numerous album credits, a long-time voting member and former New York Governor of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and an Emmy Award winning co-producer of the copyright education PSA entitled “Copy Kid” created by animator Bevin Carnes (2014).

Bernard Grimaldi began his career scoring several famous French documentaries (Raymond Adam and Jean Pierre Janssen’s “Gypsies of the Sea” and Albert Lamorisse’s “Lovers Wind”). After composing extensively for advertising, including the award-winning “Gauloise, Sons of the Earth” series by David Bailey for Saatchi & Saatchi, he met Fabien Ontoniente in 1994 and his second film “Tom Is Alone.” From there Grimaldi scored “People”, the “Jet-set” sequel (Jose Garcia and Rupert Everett), “93, rue Lauriston”, the acclaimed series “The Eloise Rome Investigations”, “Clementine” for which he received the International Festival of Audiovisual Programs 2008 Best Original Music for TV Movie Award, and European series “Odysseus.” Grimaldi is a founding Board member of UCMF (French Union of Film Music Composers) and became President in June 2008. In January 2006, he became president of the Federation of Film and Audiovisual Composers of Europe (FFACE). Under his presidency, FFACE became the founding pillar of ECSA , uniting the composers and authors of all genres across 24 European countries. He is presently Vice-President of ECSA and Chairman of its film and audiovisual music Committee.