2017 ASCAP Board

The ASCAP Foundation and The Library of Congress together present the 10th annual “We Write the Songs” event at the historic Coolidge Auditorium in The Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The evening celebrates the gift by the ASCAP Foundation to the Library of Congress of the original manuscripts, lead sheets, lyrics sheets, photos and letters of some of America’s greatest creators of words and music.

The evening is hosted by Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden and ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams, and will include performances by several of ASCAP’s leading songwriter and composer members, among them: Johntá Austin (Mariah Carey, “We Belong Together,” Mary J. Blige, “Be Without You”), Brandy Clark (Miranda Lambert, “Mama’s Broken Heart”), Mike Love (The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations”), Michael McDonald (“Takin’ It to The Streets”), Jason Mraz (“I’m Yours”) and Suzanne Vega (“Tom’s Diner”).

Celebrating its tenth year, “We Write the Songs” has become a Washington tradition and an exclusive invitation-only event for legislative and cultural dignitaries where dozens of Members of Congress crowd Coolidge Auditorium for an evening of classic songs and stories.

The ASCAP Collection at the Library of Congress was established to preserve the history and create a repository for video and audio materials, photos, scores, documents and artifacts. Each is relevant to the rich history of ASCAP and its members as contributors to American culture. Some archival materials record the day-to-day workings of ASCAP; others provide insights into the life and music of individual ASCAP members. The ASCAP Collection at the Library of Congress gives historians, students and the public access to this valuable trove of musical history.

“We Write the Songs” takes place the evening before ASCAP’s “Stand with Songwriters” Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. On Thursday, May 17, many of the “We Write the Songs” music creators will meet with Senators to discuss the challenges facing songwriters in the digital music age and urge them to cosponsor the Music Modernization Act— bipartisan music reform legislation that was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives and was recently reintroduced in the Senate.

Founded in 1975, the ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education, talent development and humanitarian programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers throughout the United States.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP’s mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world’s best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business – from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With over 660,000 members representing more than 11.5 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members.