The Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) is an organization founded in 1931, to help "advance, promote, and benefit" the profession of songwriters. It was founded as the Songwriters Protective Association by

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with sh ...

George W. Meyer George William Meyer (January 1, 1884– August 28, 1959) was an American Tin Pan Alley songwriter. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1884. He graduated from Roxbury High School, and began working in accountancy for Boston department stor ...

and

Edgar Leslie Edgar Leslie (December 31, 1885 – January 22, 1976) was an American songwriter. Biography Edgar Leslie was born in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1885. He studied at the Cooper Union in New York. He published his first song in 1909, starting a l ...

. 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. As of February 2012, the Songwriters Guild of America, Inc., has been operating as a Tennessee corporation. Since 1973, The Songwriters Guild Foundation has been organized as a New York corporation. In 1976, the organization, along with the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the

Copyright Act of 1976 The Copyright Act of 1976 is a United States copyright law and remains the primary basis of copyright law in the United States, as amended by several later enacted copyright provisions. The Act spells out the basic rights of copyright holders, cod ...

. In July 1999, a similar but much smaller organization — National Academy of Songwriters based on 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. 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 corportized publishers, producers, record companies, and studios.

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??:

* 1936–1942:

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 18, 1996) was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for Tw ...

* 1942–1951:

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moon'' (1928). Earl ...

* 1952–1955:

Charles Tobias Charles Tobias (August 15, 1898 – July 7, 1970) was an American songwriter. Biography Born in New York City, United States, Tobias grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts with brothers Harry Tobias and Henry Tobias, also songwriters. He started hi ...

* 1955–1957: Abel Baer (1893–1976) * 1957–1966:

Burton Lane Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include '' Finian's Rainbow'' in 1947 and ''On a Clear Day You ...

* 1968–1972:

Edward Eliscu Edward Eliscu (April 2, 1902 – June 18, 1998) was an American lyricist, playwright, producer and actor, and a successful writer of songs for films. Life Eliscu was born in Manhattan, New York City. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in ...

* 1973–1982:

Ervin Drake Ervin Drake (born Ervin Maurice Druckman; April 3, 1919 – January 15, 2015) was an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "I Believe (1953 song), I Believe" and "It Was a Very Good Year". He wrote in a variet ...

* 1982–2000:

George David Weiss George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Weiss was born in a Jewish fa ...

* 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)

References

External links

Official website

Informational video about Songwriters Guild of America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Songwriters Guild Of America Organizations established in 1931 Music organizations based in the United States