Songwriters Guild of America

The Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) is an American organization created to "advance, promote, and benefit" the profession of songwriters. It was founded in 1931 as the Songwriters Protective Association by Billy Rose, George W. Meyer and Edgar Leslie. SGA issued the first standard songwriters contract in 1932 and most writers consider it the 'standard' agreement in the industry. in 1982, SGA moved its executive office from New York City to Nashville area (Brentwood, Tennessee). As of February 2012, the Songwriters Guild of America, Inc., has been operating as a Tennessee corporation. Since 1973, SGA has a separate subsidiary, the Songwriters Guild Foundation, which has been organized as a New York corporation.

In 1976, the SGA, along with the RIAA, was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Copyright Act of 1976. In July 1999, a similar but much smaller organization — National Academy of Songwriters based in Los Angeles — closed and recommended that its 3,000 members join the Songwriters Guild of America. NAS's impetus for closing was a concession of unnecessary redundancies of the two organizations striving for the same goal.Newsline — The National Academy of Songwriters, Billboard Magazine, July 24, 1999, pg. 83The National Academy of Songwriters and the Songwriters Guild of America Join Forces!, Songwriters.org archived article.

Rick Carnes has been the president for the last years.

The Songwriters Guild features online and offline classes in songwriting and the music business. Other features include contract review for members, in-depth song evaluations, royalty collection services and music industry resources.

History The Songwriters Protective Association was formed in 1931 partly as a counterweight to the Music Publishers Protective Association, which was founded in 1917. It gave creative talent some institutional heft in dealings with increasingly corporatized publishers, producers, record companies, and studios.Gary A. Rosen, Unfair to Genius: The Strange and Litigious Career of Ira B. Arnstein, Oxford University Press, pg. 22 (2012)

Name changes In May 1958, the organization changed its name from Songwriters Protective Association to the American Guild of Authors and Composers (AGAC).Songwriters Take New Title, New York Times, May 24, 1958 In the 1980s, the organization changed its name to Songwriters Guild of America.

Presidents & executive directors Presidents 1931–19??: Billy Rose 1936–1942: Irving Caesar 1942–1951: Sigmund Romberg 1952–1955: Charles Tobias 1955–1957: Abel Baer (1893–1976) 1957–1966: Burton Lane 1968–1972: Edward Eliscu 1973–1982: Ervin Drake 1982–2000: George David Weiss 2002–current: Rick Carnes (née Charles Frederick Carnes; born 1950)

Executive directors Miriam Rose Stern (1912–1990) (19??–2005): Lewis Bachman (1934–2006) (2005–2008): Rundi Ann Ream (born 1962)

Songwriters Guild of America

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