I am a musician, a singer/songwriter. Like many other professions the Music profession requires commitment, talent, consistency, public relations, time…basically hard work. The Music Industry makes a lot of money,  nonetheless, musicians are universally known poor. Usually struggling to make a living and usually working in other fields in order to sustain their families.

Institutions like ASCAP were created to support our music community through the right excersice of Copyright. Copyright protects your creative rights and helps you make good business use of your songs, plus giving songwriters the opportunity to develop their network through different workshops and events directed to the music industry.

I personally don’t know the  core dynamis of ASCAP, but I can say that ASCAP gave me a Scholarship some years ago so I could receive money every month to keep my songwriting going. It was very much appreciated.

Today I received a letter from ASCAP. And I would love to hear your opinions about it, so I can research into the right direction and write more keeping you posted. Thank you in advance for your comments and opinions!

THE ASCAP LEGISLATIVE FUND
FOR THE ARTS
ONE LINCOLN PLAZA
NEW YORK, N.Y. 10023
Dear YESICA,

On behalf of songwriters and composers everywhere, I am urging you to support ASCAP’s Legislative Fund for the Arts (ALFA).

At this moment, we are facing our biggest challenge ever. Many forces including Creative Commons, Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation and technology companies with deep pockets are mobilizing to promote “Copyleft” in order to undermine our “Copyright.” They say they are advocates of consumer rights, but the truth is these groups simply do not want to pay for the use of our music. Their mission is to spread the word that our music should be free.

This is why your help now is vital. We fear that our opponents are influencing Congress against the interests of music creators. If their views are allowed to gain strength, music creators will find it harder and harder to make a living as traditional media shifts to online and wireless services. We all know what will happen next: the music will dry up, and the ultimate loser will be the music consumer.

We cannot afford to lose the support of our legislators either at this time or into the future. To this end, we must urge the members of Congress to support our rights.

Of course, a legislative campaign of this magnitude requires funds. We are coming to you–along with many other professional ASCAP members– to help protect your future. Of course, we understand that these are tough times for everyone. Accordingly, we are asking you to make a very small contribution to wage this battle. Our thinking is that if everyone we are approaching responds with the modest sum we are requesting, it will add up to a reasonable result. In line with this, we are requesting that you write a personal check for five dollars ($5.00) or more made out to the ASCAP Legislative Fund for the Arts. If your contribution is greater than $200, federal law requires that you provide the necessary information requested on the attached form. Please send any checks to ASCAP Legislative Fund for the Arts, c/o Adrian Ross, One Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023. Please note that corporate checks are not permissible.

You can also charge the amount to your credit card, if you prefer, by clicking on the following link:

https://members.ascap.com/ma/EwaWeb/pub/startOnlineDonation.do

Think of it as investing in your own future—-which is precisely what it is. We will use the funds to advance our agenda in Washington on your behalf. Please read and complete the information requested on the attached form, and say “yes” to helping us help you safeguard your rights and your future income.

Many thanks,

Paul Williams

THANK YOU ASCAP 🙂 Thank you Paul ~ blessings

LOVE

yeye