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ASCAP promotes Beth Matthews to CEO
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 14 January 2015
The American Society Of Composers Authors And Publishers, or ASCAP as you cool kids are more likely to call it, has announced a new CEO. Elizabeth Matthews replaces John LoFrumento, who retired last month, with immediate effect. Matthews has been Executive Vice President and General Counsel at the US collecting society since 2013.
ASCAP Chairmen Paul Williams says of Matthews’ promotion: “Now, more than ever, songwriters and composers need an advocate we can trust to ensure our work is valued fairly in a rapidly changing music marketplace. What we do is vital to the future of music. Beth’s experience in the global multimedia content sector, her deep understanding of the complexities of the music business and her passion for protecting the rights of music creators make her singularly qualified for the CEO role. Her enthusiasm for taking on the new challenges of the digital era is unparalleled”.
LoFrumento adds: “Since joining ASCAP’s executive team, Beth Matthews has been a tireless advocate for our members and a catalyst for the entire organisation. Working alongside Beth these past two years, there is no doubt in my mind that she has both the know-how and vision to lead ASCAP in a dynamic music landscape”.
And, of course, there is a quote from Matthews herself as well, which goes like this: “ASCAP is an expansive, forward-looking and adaptive service organisation that successfully built and grew the market for performance rights for songwriters and publishers in the United States”.
She continues: “As CEO, I am excited about building on our unique assets to offer new, innovative services to our members and licensing partners. As new media platforms transform how we listen to music, it is critical that we evolve our own business models and update outdated music licensing laws to better reflect the reality of today’s music marketplace. I am honoured to work on behalf of the world’s greatest music creators who call ASCAP home”.
As alluded to in both quotes there, Matthews takes on the role at the beginning of what is likely to be an exciting/stressful year in the American song publishing industry, as it lobbies to have collective licensing rules overhauled, fights for a bigger cut of the wider music industry’s digital income, and possibly reconsiders when and how to licence collectively, with the likes of Irving Azoff favouring direct dealing on some public performance licensing for his hit-writing clients.
