2012 ASCAP EXPO

EVP, Membership - ASCAP

 Mr. Anokute was still a teenager in 2001 when he began his career in music with an internship in the A&R Administration Department at Def Jam Recordings. Soon he was managing songwriter Alisha ‘Mjestie’ Brooks, where he brokered a co-publishing deal for her with Grammy Award winning producer Vada Nobles.  Their first writing collaboration resulted in “Pon de Replay,” the debut worldwide smash hit by Rihanna. The song’s success in 2005 led Mr. Anokute to Virgin/EMI Records, whose Chairman & CEO Jason Flom offered him a consultancy that quickly led to Mr. Anokute’s appointment as Senior Directo… Read more

 Described by the Toronto Star as “an eclectic with wide open ears,\' composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel has been widely hailed for his creativity, theatricality, and virtuosity. Bermel\'s works draw on a rich variety of musical genres—classical, jazz, pop, rock, blues, folk, funk, and gospel—as well as his hands-on experience with music of cultures around the world, such as Thracian folk style, Brazilian caxixi, and lobi xylophone.  Currently serving as composer-in-residence with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and artist-in-residence at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, Bermel h… Read more

Songwriter, Producer - "You'll Think of Me,” "Why Don't We Just Dance," "Crazy Women," "Simple Things"  
 
Darrell Brown is a songwriter, arranger and producer who has written hit songs for dozens of recording artists, as well as music for film and television. Recently, he has co-written songs for country music stars LeAnn Rimes and Keith Urban (including the Grammy Award-winning song, “You’ll Think of Me”) and recently collaborated with Neil Young on his records Living With War and Chrome Dreams II. He lives in Los Angeles and Nashville.… Read more

 Jon Burlingame is the nation’s leading writer on the subject of music for films and television. He writes regularly for Daily Variety and has written for such other publications as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Daily News, Premiere, Emmy and The Hollywood Reporter. He is the author of four books: Sound and Vision: 60 Years of Motion Picture Soundtracks, a look at film composers and movie soundtracks; TV’s Biggest Hits, a history of television scoring; For the Record, about Hollywood studio musicians; and The Music of James Bond, about the 50 year history of … Read more

 For decades, Ben Escobedo has engrossed himself in both technology and music – two of his greatest passions. A certified Sennheiser “RF Expert,” he has spent the last six years at Sennheiser honing his skills. Prior to joining Sennheiser, Escobedo worked in audio production and recording capabilities, live sound production, and as a trainer of various technologies. Escobedo holds a B.A. from University of Connecticut, an Emergency Medical Technician license and when he is not currently on the road, he enjoys fabricating guitar effects pedals and plays guitar in several local bands.… Read more

 In his 30 years as a major-label executive, Ron Fair championed the Black Eyed Peas to 17 million albums, 4 number-ones and multiple-Grammy-wins, discovered and produced 7 number-one R&B hits for vocalist Keyshia Cole; guided and produced Vanessa Carlton to a Grammy-nominated debut, producing and arranging her number-one, “A Thousand Miles.”  Fair supervised and produced the Pussycat Dolls’ seven-million-selling Grammy-nominated debut. While at RCA Records, Fair discovered Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson, later installing her into the Black Eyed Peas and supervising her 5-million-selling Grammy-nomin… Read more

 Before he and a partner started their own commercial music company, Fiction, in 2006, Eric Fawcett lived a previous life in the record business. He was a record producer, session drummer, and drummer for his band Spymob, for Pharrell Williams’ hip hop/rock group, N*E*R*D, for The Hopefuls, and he continues to perform with Chinese pop star Wang Lee Hom, and with his all-star cover band, Yukon Kornelius, along with Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies, Stefan Lessard from the Dave Matthews Band, Adam Gardner from Guster, and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider.  In 2008, Fiction merged with the Minneap… Read more

 Thomas Golubić is a Los Angeles-based DJ, music supervisor, and Grammy-nominated record producer. His music supervision credits include the AMC series Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and The Killing, the HBO series Six Feet Under and the New Line film After The Sunset, among a number of other film and television projects. Thomas was nominated for two Grammy awards for producing volumes 1 and 2 of the Six Feet Under soundtrack, and – with former partner Gary Calamar – was responsible for the use of Sia’s “Breathe Me” in the final scene of the series. It is considered one of the most memorable… Read more

Regarded as the ultimate \'tastemaker\' in music, Nic Harcourt is the former host of KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and the syndicated show Sounds Eclectic. After 10 years as KCRW Music Director, Nic stepped down in 2008 to pursue other opportunities. Still a DJ at KCRW, Nic currently serves as an Editor-at-Large for Music and Culture at the Los Angeles Times Magazine and is music supervisor for the hit show 90210. Born in Birmingham, England, he charmed his way into a part-time gig at the well-respected independent station WDST in Woodstock, New York. By the time he left for KCRW, he had gon… Read more

 Jonathan McHugh has spent more than 25 years in the music, film & TV business as a producer and music supervisor. As founder of Song Stew Entertainment – an independent film/TV production, music supervision and marketing company – he is currently co-producing the upcoming film Christmas In Compton. Most recently, he was SVP of Film & TV at Island Def Jam Music Group where he co-produced the documentary, Greatest Movie Ever Sold and the film Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, which has grossed over 100 million dollars. McHugh has produced dozens of films and TV shows including Snoop Dogg’s Hood … Read more

 Jeff Miller has been writing about music for over a decade, for publications as noted (and varied), as Billboard, the Los Angeles Times, Esquire.com, and Maxim. He\'s also the lead guitarist for the world\'s first indie-rock tribute band, Black Crystal Wolf Kids, and is the Senior Los Angeles City Editor of the indispensable men\'s lifestyle email magazine Thrillist.

 Melissa Sabo\'s career began when she became head of her college radio station. From there she built relationships that would lead to her first job at MCA Records working with Something Corporate, Midtown, The Starting Line, DJ Encore, and more.  Melissa quickly moved into artist management and has been involved in the careers of Ben Folds, The Rocket Summer, Underoath, Say Anything and, most recently, Grammy-winning pop producer Sandy Vee as well as Swedish Grammy-nominated producer/DJ Adrian Lux.  Along with artist management, Melissa is also involved in A&R at Ultra Records for Drop The Li… Read more

 Steve Seskin has written seven #1 songs that have been featured on albums selling over 40 million copies. The Grammy-nominated “Grown Men Don’t Cry” was recorded by Tim McGraw and “Don’t Laugh at Me,” recorded by Mark Wills, was winner of both the NSAI’s and Music Row Magazine’s Song of the Year contest. A Steve Seskin concert will have you wiping away a tear one minute and laughing out loud the next. He is an accomplished performer, producer and recording artist who has made 19 albums since 1975 - his latest being Two Paper Town. His song \'Don\'t Laugh At Me\' written with Allen Shamblin, i… Read more

 Shaw started her music career as a DJ for mainstream rock format station 94 Rock in Albuquerque. Allison also was a writer for VH1/MTV online from 1998-2002. In 2004, Shaw started nationally distributed Hyperactive Music Magazine and the Hyperfestival and Conference in New Mexico. Shaw has interviewed over 1000 performers from Elton John to Tina Turner to Lenny Kravitz and Green Day. In 2007 Allison was the Executive Director for the Santa Fe Muzik Fest which had bands like Public Enemy, Wu Tang Clan, The Fray, and many more,. Allison helped create awareness and built relations for the music.… Read more

 Mark Watters is a six time Emmy Award winning composer and conductor whose diverse composing credits include Doug\'s First Movie, Kronk’s New Groove, Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas, The Return Of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves for Disney, The Pebble And The Penguin and All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 for MGM as well as numerous television movies, DVD’s and over 300 episodes of television including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Tiny Toon Adventures, The New Pink Panther, All Dogs Go To Heaven, 101 Dalmatians, Winnie the Pooh and NBC’s A Very Muppet Christmas. In 1996, Mark served as Music D… Read more

 Raised by an ex-Marine Southern Baptist minister father, and a mother who insisted he master the piano by age 12, Jimmy Webb was working the publishing houses of Hollywood at age 16 and was a self-proclaimed \'professional songwriter\' at age 17. Mentored by Johnny Rivers and Lou Adler, Webb arrived on the scene at a propitious moment and strung together a necklace of hit songs. \'Up, Up and Away\' for the Fifth Dimension, \'By The Time I Get To Phoenix\' and \'Wichita Lineman\' for Glen Campbell followed. The kid some had dismissed as a \'one hit wonder\' went on to create a modern standard … Read more

Songwriter, Actor – “Evergreen,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “The Rainbow Connection”
President and Chairman of the Board - ASCAP
 
Paul Williams is an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning Hall of Fame songwriter and President & Chairman of the Board of ASCAP. Paul Williams' career in music really began in 1967 when his acting career stalled, proof once again that "No" is often a gift. He began writing for his own amusement and happily discovered his life's work. Williams' songs include: "We've Only Just Begun," "An Old Fashioned Love Song," "Evergreen," "Rainy Days And… Read more

President – Omni Music
Composer – The Omni Music Library
 
Composer, producer and ASCAP Board Member Doug Wood has written and produced music for hundreds of television programs and commercials, including Saturday Night Live, Dateline NBC, Conan O’Brien, promos for ABC, CBS, ESPN and NBC, national spots for Coca Cola, Volkswagen, Verizon and scores of others. A classically-trained pianist and oboist, and composition major at Manhattan School of Music (as well as rock guitarist and band leader), Wood is the founder and CEO of the Omnimusic Libraries. During his tenure on the ASCAP Board, he is W… Read more