SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING NAMED PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR

OLGA TAÑON HONORED WITH “ASCAP LATIN HERITAGE AWARD”

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), celebrated its 11th annual El Premio ASCAP dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The gala, hosted by ASCAP’s President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman, honored the most performed songwriters and publishers of Latin music of 2002.

Susie Castillo, Miss USA 2003 and KTLA’s Carlos Amezcua served as the celebrity guest hosts. Among the participating artists and award recipients in attendance were: Robi Rosa, Los Pinguos, La Onda, Pablo Montero, Sin Bandera, KTLA’s Mindy Burbano, Alejandro Lerner, Mark Fortmann, Claudia Brant, Marco Antonio Solis, Banda Tierra Blanca, Jose Manuel Figueroa, Pete Astudillo, Luis Angel, Sergio George, Fato and Mariachi del Sol.

A highlight of the event was the special presentation of the Latin Heritage Award to Olga Tañon by Marco Antonio Solis. Solis spoke warmly about his experience working with Olga. They first, had the opportunity of creating music together when he produced her album titled “Nuevos Senderos” in 1995.

Olga Tañon has been a force in Latin Music since she recorded her first solo album with WEA Latina in 1992. With her powerful voice, her dancing talent, her charm and charisma, this amazing superstar has brought audiences to their feet in the most important theaters, concert halls and arenas from her native Puerto Rico, to all Latin America, Spain and the United States, establishing herself as one of the most accomplished Latin artists in the world today.

Another highlight of the evening was José Manuel Figueroa’s special tribute to his father, Joan Sebastian, accompanied by El Mariachi del Sol. Many of the stars in attendance joined José Manuel on stage to sing a medley of some of Sebastian’s hits, including “Secreto de Amor”, “Llora” and “Tatuaje”. Sebastian, was honored with the Songwriter of the Year Award. This is the second year that Sebastian received the coveted award.

Joan was born in the town of Julianita of Sierra Guerrero in Mexico. During his early musical career, he blossomed as both a songwriter and an interpreter. In 2000, ASCAP honored Sebastian with “The Silver Pen Award” recognizing 35 years of song crafting. His most recent works include: Grammy Award winner “Secreto de Amor”, “Un Idiota” and “Amorcito Mio”. His music has been interpreted by such notable artists as: Rocio Durcal, Lucero, Banda Cachorros, and Graciela Beltran among others.

The Publisher of the Year honors went to Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, as the publisher of the most award-winning songs. They published a total of 24 songs.

ASCAP’s El Premio music honors were presented in four categories: Pop/Balada, Regional Mexicano, Tropical and Rock En Español. Special honors were also awarded to the Supersong of the Year and the Independent Rock En Español Group of the Year”. “Entra En Mi Vida”, composed by Nahyel Schajris (SGAE), published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing , LLC and “Y Tu Te Vas”, composed by Franco de Vita (SACVEN), published by WB Music Group Corp, shared the Supersong of The Year honor. Sol D’ Menta, received “The Independent Rock En Español Group of The Year” award.

The top winning songs of each category were: Pop/Balada “Quitame Ese Hombre”, composed by Jorge Luis Piloto, published by Adam Rhodes Music, Piloto Music Publisher, Universal Music Publishing Group and “Usted Se Me Llevó La Vida”, composed by Donato Poveda, published by PSO Ltd.; Regional Mexicano, “Juro Por Dios” composed by Javier Zazueta Larrañaga, published by Editora La Sierra; in Tropical/Salsa: “La Agarro Bajando”, composed by Carlos Javier Montes Quiles, published by Mo Clan Music.

The award was also shared with “Te Quiero Igual Que Ayer”, composed by Wilfran Castillo (SAYCO), published by: Promotora Colombiana de Musica, Universal Music Publishing Group and the top award to the Rock En Español category was presented to “Angel del Amor”, composed by Alejandro Gonzalez Trujillo, Jose Fernando Olivera Sierra, published by EMI April Music. (See complete winners list.).

ASCAP is the dominant creative force in Latin music. Based on Billboard’s 2002 year-end charts, ASCAP members secured 83% of Latin Pop Airplay Titles with 8 of the top 10 songs, 78% of Hot Latin Tracks with 7 of the top 10 songs; 78% of Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay with 6 of the top 10 songs, and 63% of Latin Regional Mexican Airplay with 7 of the top 10 songs.

Established in 1914, ASCAP is the world’s largest performing rights organization, with over 150,000 active composer, lyricist and music publisher members. ASCAP is committed to protecting the rights of its members by licensing and collecting royalties for the public performance of their copyrighted works, and then distributing these fees to the Society’s members based on performances. ASCAP’s repertory spans the entire spectrum of music - from pop to symphonic, rock to gospel, Latin to country to jazz, rhythm and blues, theater, film and television music. ASCAP’s Board of Directors is made up solely of writers and publishers, elected by the membership.