Songwriters Guild Adds Experience, Services for Catalog Members.

NEW YORK -- Members of the Songwriters Guild of America Catalog Administration Program (CAP) will receive an early holiday gift this season. Rundi Ream, SGA's chief operating officer, managed a coup in the recent hiring of Janice Jackson from her former position as Copyright Administrator of Peer Music Publishing. Jackson will serve as the new head of CAP and begins work in early December.

Members will benefit from Jackson's decades-long experience in the field of music publishing. In her recent position with Peer, she handled the copyright department as well as the company's Web music catalog and artist database. She also served as Director of Royalties for MCS Music America; as General Manager of Joe Scaife Publishing; as Copyright Manager of Almo/Irving Music; and as Copyright Administrator of Maypop Music Group. She began her career with Capitol/EMI America/Liberty Records.

"I'm eager to begin work with each of our CAP members. The SGA's reputation for counting the country's most successful and prolific writers among its members is well known. I'll be working hand in hand with the rest of the SGA staff to bring new attention to our members' important catalogs of work," said Jackson.

Jackson will head CAP from the SGA's new headquarters in Nashville, TN. However, Ray Kersaint, who has worked with CAP members for many years, is expected to continue to serve CAP in a consulting capacity in the New York/New Jersey area. The Los Angeles office will soon boast another addition to the Program with a song promotions expert in that city. CAP's online presence will also grow with a new Web site devoted to the Program.

"With the addition of Janice and her expertise in music publishing, we feel the SGA is taking the right steps to better serve our loyal CAP members. Today, music publishing is more competitive than ever but it also offers some outstanding opportunities in the form of new music uses such as Internet, ring tone and other new media," said Ream. "We plan to serve our members catalogs in these new uses while continuing to represent them in the more traditional venues of movies, television and advertising."

For more information about CAP, contact the SGA's new headquarters at 209 10th Avenue South, Suite 321, Nashville, TN, 37203 or by phone at [phone].

The SGA serves roughly 5,000 developing and professional songwriters and their heirs. It provides professional services, like the Catalog Administration Program, and offers educational and networking opportunities for developing songwriters. The SGA is the driving force behind songwriting advocacy on Capitol Hill, winning regular increases in royalty payments and fighting music piracy and its devastating effects on the artistic community as a whole.