ASCAP President Paul Williams with Ozzy Osbourne, nominated twice this year
Invision for ASCAP
Plenty of ASCAP’s best and brightest songwriters turned out Saturday (Jan. 25) morning for the performance rights organization’s 2014 Grammy Nominee Brunch at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles. The party was marked with a centennial celebration for ASCAP and for that reason expanded beyond its typical Rhythm & Soul guest list to the entire ASCAP family.
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Drinks were flowing and breakfast hors d’oeuvres were passed around the morning meet-and-greet as the event brought out big names across genres including Ne-Yo, T.I., Jermaine Dupri, Future, country singer Deric Ruttan, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.
“For us, this event is so important because we want to shine a spotlight on all of our writers, all of our nominees, whether they win on Sunday or not they’re already winners to us. We think they are amazing,” said ASCAP Vice President, Rhythm & Soul Nicole George.
Dupri said Grammy weekend is something he looks forward to all year. “It’s like the Super Bowl for music,” he said.
Ne-Yo compared the party-packed weekend to “a big high school reunion.” He said, “You see people that gained weight, people that lost weight, people that were hot last year and ain’t hot this year. ‘Oh you got some kids?’ There’s all of that. But it’s all in love it’s all in fun.”
The Mowtown artist and Senior Vice President of A&R — who launched his career writing Mario’s 2004 hit “Let Me Love You” — was singing ASCAP’s praises too.
“ASCAP is one of those companies that champions the songwriter,” he said. “In a lot of occasions, by design, we’re kind of the guy behind the guy. Sometimes people don’t really give us what we deserve. ASCAP goes out there to make sure we get what we’re worth, get what we deserve, and I love them for it.
“They are art first. Everybody knows that the music business is a ‘business’, but they definitely tackle it from a more art-first standpoint. It just makes it feel more like family as opposed to a bunch of suits and ties checking out music.”
Paul Williams, Sharon Osbourne, Morgan Stanley senior VP and wealth advisorTed Reid, and entertainment attorney Andrew Tavel of Tavel & Shulman, P.C. were also in attendance at the ASCAP brunch.