Entertainment

13th annual ASCAP EXPO kick-off

Published on May 9, 2018

Festivities kicked off with opening remarks from ASCAP President (and Songwriters Hall of Fame member) Paul Williams and the Billboard-sponsored “We Create Music” panel, an event that has become a staple of EXPOs opening day over the years. Multi-platinum recording artist Jason Mraz, ASCAP Latin Songwriter of the Year Claudia Brant, noted film composer Junkie XL (Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, Batman v. Superman) and ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter of the Year /chart-topping songwriter David Garcia came together to discuss first breaks, overcoming self-doubt, the art of songwriting and so much more.

Indie icon St. Vincent and 19-year-old Mark Ronson-signee King Princess joined forces for a conversation between two of today’s most riveting musicians. The pair exchanged vivid stories from their songwriting pasts: their earliest musical memories, finding their identities as artists and penning their first breakthroughs.

Jermaine Dupri walked EXPO attendees through his storied career, including 20 #1 hits on the Billboard charts and his iconic work with Usher (the Diamond-certified Confessions), Mariah Carey (“We Belong Together,” Billboard’s highest-charting single of the 2000s), Jay-Z and Beyonce.

A team of Nashville power players from William Morris, Warner/Chappell, Red Light Management and Spotify tackled “Making It In Music City” in a conversation with #1 songwriter Adam Sanders, whose decade-long rise was also used as a case study by the group. Among other insights, Sanders and team discussed how playing a 2:30PM show on a Tuesday and befriending a pre-fame merch salesman named Cole Swindell changed his life forever.

: HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 07: (L-R) Moderator Melinda Newman, Composer/DJ Junkie XL, Songwriter Claudia Brant, Singer/Songwriter Jason Mraz and Songwriter/Producer David Garcia speak onstage at The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP) *** Local Caption *** Melinda Newman;Junkie XL;Claudia Brant;Jason Mraz;David Garcia

: HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 07: ASCAP President Paul Wlliams speaks onstage at The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP) *** Local Caption *** Paul Williams

: HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 07: (L-R) Moderator Melinda Newman, Composer/DJ Junkie XL, Songwriter Claudia Brant, Singer/Songwriter Jason Mraz and Songwriter/Producer David Garcia speak onstage at The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP) *** Local Caption *** Melinda Newman;Junkie XL;Claudia Brant;Jason Mraz;David Garcia

: at The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California.

: HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 07: (L-R) Panel Moderator/Associate Professor at Loyola Marymount University Evelyn McDonnell, Singer/Songwriter King Princess and Singer/Songwriter St. Vincent speak onstage at the ‘St. Vincent in Conversation with King Princess’ panel during The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP)

: HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 07: (L-R) Chairman at Transparence Entertainment Group Dennis Dreith watches Producer/Singer-Songwriter Priscilla Renea perform onstage at the ‘Your Music, Your Money – Shedding the Light on Royalty Financing and Your Global Rights’ panel during The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Maury Phillips/Getty Images for ASCAP)

: HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 07: (L-R) Vice President at Transparence Entertainment Group Bruce Waynne, Chairman at Transparence Entertainment Group Dennis Dreith and Producer/Singer-Songwriter Priscilla Renea speak onstage at the ‘Your Music, Your Money – Shedding the Light on Royalty Financing and Your Global Rights’ panel during The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Maury Phillips/Getty Images for ASCAP)

: HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 07: Producer Jermaine Dupri speaks onstage at the ‘Under the Hood: The Confessions of Jermaine Dupri’ panel during The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP)

: HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 07: (L-R) Head of Global Programming for Country Music at Spotify John Marks, Manager Tom Lord, Agent Kevin Meads, Vice President, A&R at Warner/Chappell Music Ryan Beuschel and Musician Adam Sanders speak onstage at the ‘It Takes a Village to Raise a Songwriter; Making it in Music City’ panel during The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Maury Phillips/Getty Images for ASCAP)

: HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 07: (L-R) Agent Kevin Meads, Vice President, A&R at Warner/Chappell Music Ryan Beuschel and Musician Adam Sanders speak onstage at the ‘It Takes a Village to Raise a Songwriter; Making it in Music City’ panel during The 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO at Loews Hollywood Hotel on May 7, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Maury Phillips/Getty Images for ASCAP)

Related Topics:ASCAP EXPO, Claudia Brant, Featured, Jason Mraz, Jermaine Dupri, Paul Williams, Red Light Management, Spotify, William Morris

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