Music Publishing News Weekly Roundup: February 14, 2014

This year's inductees for the 2014 Songwriters Hall Of Fame have been chosen including: Jim Weatherly, Graham Gouldman, Mark James, and The Kink’s Ray Davies. Both Donovan and the Kinks have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This year's writers beat out some major acts also up for nomination including Madonna, John Mellencamp, Sade, Nile Rodgers, and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. The writers will be inducted at the Marriot Marquis hotel in New York in June 2014.

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Sony/ATV Music Publishing has announced that it will remain under the BMI blanket license, which means that the entire Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing catalog can be played as part of the licenses given by BMI. Sony/ATV was the first to withdraw digital rights from ASCAP and BMI on January 1, 2013. Sony/ATV is the largest music publisher in the world.

Thursday February 14th marked ASCAP’s 100th birthday. The performing rights organization was formed in 1914 by prominent composers, lyricists, and publishers of the time including Irving Berlin, Gustav Kerker, and Raymond Hubbel. Today, ASCAP represents over 500,000 composers, lyricists, songwriters, and publishers and has over 9 million songs in their repertoire. To celebrate this milestone, ASCAP is hosting several Events and Activities including the launch of the new ASCAP100 website, an exhibit at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., and a book on ASCAP’s history by Bruce Polluck. 2013 was a particularly successful year for the PRO.

CBS aired a tribute special to honor The Beatles and mark the 50th anniversary of their performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, which launched their career in the United States. Performances included Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, and Katy Perry.