| September 12, 2002
Local Miami Songwriter Receives
The Heineken Music Initiative / The ASCAP Foundation
R&B Grant
The ASCAP Foundation and The Heineken Music Initiative
proudly announce the selection of Hilaire Charles
of Miami, Florida as the first recipient of a special
R&B grant program. Launched earlier this year,
The Heineken Music Initiative/The ASCAP Foundation
R&B Grant program is designed to assist emerging
R&B songwriters in furthering their careers and
will benefit up-and-coming songwriters in five key
music markets across the country (New York, Los Angeles,
Atlanta, Chicago and Miami). The winning songwriters
from each of the markets will be awarded a $3,500
grant.
The grant was presented to Hilaire Charles at The
Roney Palace Hotel in Miami during ASCAP's
Rhythm & Soul SWAPmeet. On hand to make the
presentation were Scott Hunter Smith, president of
The Heineken Music Initiative and ASCAP’s Jeanie
Weems, Vice President Film & TV/Special Projects.
"We congratulate Hilaire, our first beneficiary
of this newly-created R&B grant program, said
Jeanie Weems. "We are grateful to The Heineken
Music Initiative for making this possible and would
like to thank the panel of judges that helped in the
selection process. This new program is the latest
example of The ASCAP Foundation’s commitment
to developing and nurturing the musical talent of
the future."
Hilaire Charles is a Haitian-born songwriter/producer
based in Miami. He was inspired by his older brother
to become involved in music. The artists that influenced
Hilaire include Earth Wind & Fire, Smokey Robinson,
The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Henry Mancini, Dr.Dre,
and producers like Quincy Jones.
"I heard about the grant program from ASCAP
Inside Music," said Hilaire. "It’s
the first time I’ve entered a program of this
nature and was pleasantly surprised to learn that
I’d won. This is a great opportunity for up-and-coming
artists like myself." ASCAP Inside Music is an
e-newsletter exclusively for members who have registered
their e-mail addresses with ASCAP.
"My winning song, ‘Beautiful Girl,’
was originally about telling a girl that she was lacking
something," said Hilaire. "I was having
a hard time finishing the song but once my girlfriend,
now wife, Mirène, came into the picture, it
changed everything and I ended up completing it as
a wedding proposal song." Hilaire plans to spend
some of the grant money on new recording equipment.
The ASCAP Rhythm & Soul SWAPmeet, where Hilaire
Charles was presented with the grant, is a national
event held at various times and locations throughout
the year and is designed to give writers, producers,
lyricists and artists an opportunity to network, develop
collaborations, meet industry music professionals
and discover as yet unheard talent. Participants in
the SWAPmeet series have included She'kspere, Cody
ChestnuTT, Warryn Campbell, DJ Quik, Jean Norris -
formerly of Zhane, Big Jon Platt of EMI Music, Max
Gouse of Epic Records, LaRonda Sutton of Universal
and Big Chuck at Aftermath Records.
The Heineken Music Initiative was founded as a non-profit
organization by Heineken USA Inc. Its board includes
representatives from Heineken USA and the music industry.
ASCAP's
Rhythm & Soul SWAPmeet
Since 1975
The ASCAP Foundation has been dedicated to supporting
American music creators and encouraging the development
of American music through educational and talent development
programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops,
grants, scholarships, music education programs, and
public service projects for senior composers and lyricists.
The programs of The ASCAP Foundation are supported
by contributions from ASCAP members and from music
lovers throughout the United States.
ASCAP is a membership association of over 140,000 composers,
songwriters and music publishers of all genres of music.
ASCAP members are the dominant creative force in music.
ASCAP songwriters secured ninety percent of the Top
Ten R&B and Rap singles based on Billboard’s
2001-year end charts. The world’s largest performing
rights organization, ASCAP protects the rights of its
members by licensing and collecting royalties for the
public performance of their copyrighted works. ASCAP
is the only performing rights organization whose Board
of Directors is made up solely of writers and publishers
elected by the membership.
ASCAP
in the News
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