Paul Williams is an American songwriter. It’s a badge of honor that he has identified with since starting his a career in songwriting in 1967 after being out of work as an actor; a career transition that he refers to as the gift of a lifetime. That gift has continued to give and provide for him and his family for nearly five decades now, and it’s largely been made possible by performing rights organizations that have worked to collect and distribute performance royalties, and stand up for fair compensation of songwriters and the craft.
In 2009, Williams took the helm at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, as the performance rights organization’s President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, a leadership role that he has brought immense enthusiasm for, in the pursuit of providing fair compensation for the work songwriters produce and serving artists and producers to help shape their careers.
Recently, Paul Williams sat down with Glide Magazine to discuss the upcoming annual ASCAP EXPO conference, the state of songwriter compensation, the Music Modernization Act, of which ASCAP played a large role helping shape, and his own career in songwriting.
Paul, you have been the President of ASCAP for about ten years now. Can you comment on what initially appealed to you when you were considering taking a leadership role with the organization?
It’s interesting, because the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, is a member-owned and operated organization. I joined ASCAP in 1972, and I always said that I could write my second hit because when the first hit was out, ASCAP had negotiated the deal for the licensee, they licensed the songs, collected the money from the licensee, and distributed it within a matter of months. Writing songs is a labor of love, and it’s a labor that, as long as you can make a living out of it, you can continue to follow your heart and write songs. I have a daughter who is a licensed clinical social worker, and I feel that ASCAP should be listed somewhere on her degree because the royalties they distributed to my family and me paid for her schooling.
The work of ASCAP been a service in my life, and I make no secret of the fact that I am 29 years sober. My life changed greatly when I got sober 29 years ago, and one of the first things that I was promised, was that if I could concentrate on love and service, that everything in my life would get better, and it has. I joined the ASCAP Board of Directors in 2001, and though I took advantage of the great work ASCAP had been doing for many years, I hadn’t really understood how it operated. Now, all of the sudden, I am in the midst of it and I am able to get up close and personal with the twelve writers and twelve publishers that are represented on the Board, who are deeply committed to making things better, and advocating for the music creator.
Growing up, my mother and father were totally opposed politically, and every year when there was an election, they would lie to each other. They would agree to not vote, and as soon as he polls closed, they would say that they voted. I was raised in that kind of household, and in observing politicians in Washington, D.C., I was most impressed with people like Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch. They were opposites in most of their philosophy, but they were able to do really meaningful work. They were responsible for the Americans with Disabilities Act, and did important work for Aids, and for children. I thought where I would be able to contribute the most, was by appealing to both sides of the aisle, and trying to get some common agreement, in order to get something meaningful done. It’s been one of the greatest honors of my life to be President of ASCAP and Chairman of the Board.
It’s obvious that you are strongly committed to the work and strongly invested in the future of songwriting. I’m sure, as a songwriter, it’s interesting for you to be in a position to be able to make a positive impact for future generations of songwriters.
Working with ASCAP, you see a dedication that is spectacular. These are all “A-players,” and are people that have devoted their entire lives to supporting the music creator on the publishing side. I arrived at A&M Records, an out of work actor in 1967, and a really good music publisher was able to direct my work. They related to what I was writing about, and whom I was writing for, and they supported me.
The people that I work with at ASCAP have devoted their lives to finding talent, and giving that talent the opportunity to be heard. On the other side are music creators, film composers, and songwriters, and its remarkable. I refer to myself as the hood ornament for ASCAP, whereas, the engine is our Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Matthews. I have never met anybody who has the energy she does. Her brilliance to approach running ASCAP in a way that exposes the ability of unintended consequences, and improves the services that we offer, is great. ASCAP has become so technically savvy under her leadership. Elizabeth Matthews is a woman who loves music creators. She is the engine, and one of the many women leaders at ASCAP. The organization has, especially in the last two years, been at the forefront of taking advantage of the very best talent in the operation of ASCAP, and for the most part, it’s an amazing collection of women leaders, and men, but certainly women.
What, from the span of experience over your entire career, do you feel you are able to contribute most to ASCAP and its now over 700,000 members?
I think my ability to walk into a room full of Senators or Congressional leaders and connect with people who have the potential to change the lives of songwriters and publishers, and make adjustments to the laws that we operate under, is impactful. The Music Modernization Act (MMA) is a huge step forward for us, as far as the rules that we operate under in the music industry. It was a major shift, culturally. There was a cultural shift where all of the elements that were involved, even competitors, came together to get the MMA passed.
The MMA started with a Congressman from Georgia, Doug Collins, an Air Force Chaplain and very extremely right wing. For me, the headwater of the MMA was meeting Doug. He looked at me and said, “Oh my God, you’re Little Enos, from Smokey and the Bandit. I loved that movie. What can I do for you?” Doug is the type of individual, where when he says, “What can I do for you?” he’s not kidding. I spoke with him about the rules that we operate under, and the conditions songwriters were facing.
Today, there is a proliferation of music, and there is more music being played more often than ever before in the music industry. Though, the compensation in the streaming era that we are dealing with is so minimal, its grossly undervalued, and we really need to get to a point where we can reach the true value for our music. Doug reached out to Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat Congressman from New York. If I had an Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy dream, I watched it begin to come through. First, with the Songwriter Equity Act, which was a great idea and very specific to songwriters, but never made it to the floor of Congress. Then, in the next term, it was expanded into the MMA, which was the largest and most comprehensive change, and would loosen the handcuffs, not only for the people who create the music, but also for people who make their living with our music like Spotify and Pandora.
This is a perfect transition into what I wanted to ask you about next with the Music Modernization Act. The MMA was signed into last October. What impact have you already begun to see as a result of this new legislation?
The fact is that it will take a few years to get everything fully operational. I think that there really was a cultural shift that occurred with the Music Modernization Act. For the first time, everyone was willing to give a little in order to make all ships rise, and we began to work together as an industry. I’m very proud of ASCAP’s involvement in it. Everybody has come to the table with the willingness to stay the course. On the other side of the process there has been change, and we’re seeing change.
The proliferation of music has been an absolute gift, but the compensation needs to be adjusted. I think we’re still in that process right now and we’re staying the course.
This year, the theme of the ASCAP EXPO, is “Write Your Truth.” The gift of someone sitting down and sharing what’s in the center of their chest has a phenomenal impact on the listener because it connects with the audience and we all become a little less alone, including the writer. The thing that impressed me the most about Lady Gaga’s “Shallow,” which won this year’s Academy Award for Best Original Song, is the vulnerability and the authenticity of what I was experiencing.
I have to tell a quick story about the impact of writing your truth, with my own brother. My brother passed away in November of 2016, but his name was Mentor Williams. He was six feet tall, I’m five foot two inches, and I’m his big brother. He was six years younger than me and about a foot taller. He wanted to do what I did; he wanted to be a songwriter. When he was in high school, he actually sold his car and gave me the money so I could go to Los Angeles and try to make it as an actor. I never made it as an actor, although, right now, I’m on a show called “Goliath” as an actor, with Billy Bob Thornton. But at the time, everything was failing, until I started writing songs.
When my brother came out to Los Angeles and wanted to try and write songs like I did, I was able to get him a six-month writing deal as a contract songwriter with A&M Records. For six months, he tried to write hits, sort of country/gospel. He would write terrific stuff, but it wasn’t sticking and nobody would listen through the first verse.
Two days before his contract was up, he went to the studio to clean out his office. It was a rainy Saturday, and there wasn’t anybody in that lot except him and a guard at the gate. He went up to his office, and he was pretty depressed and confused. He was trying to write hits, but nothing was happening. It’s pouring raining outside, and he picks up a pencil and a yellow pad, and he writes down, “Day after day, I’m more confused.” He looks out the window and it’s pouring raining, and he writes, “Yet I look for the light in the pouring rain.” He looks around at his empty office and he’s feeling like he’s losing at the game, and writes, “I’m losing at the game, you know that’s a game that I hate to lose.” By now, maybe you recognize the song, “Oh, give me the beat boys, and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock and roll, and drift away.”
It was a monster hit, a huge earner at ASCAP, and is a song that people have loved for over forty years now. He wrote his truth, and he took Dobie Gray, who at the time was a has-been that had one big hit called “The In Crowd,” and took the song to Nashville, cut an album with a song on it that gave him the hit that he would write after that. I tell this story because I think it is a classic case of needing to be yourself and trusting in what you’re doing.
Already this year, European Parliament passed legislation to improve copyright protection for songwriters and other content creators. Can you talk about the anticipated effect of this across the music industry and how you see it setting precedent for other parts of the world?
It’s a classic example of the fluidity that I’m talking about right now. The fact that the United States and the EU at the same time have managed to take major steps forward for some of the music users in the world, step up to the plate, and do the right thing, is huge. It takes you back to writing your truth because the truth is that the status quo was unfair. It puts a roadblock in the process.
We want everybody that uses our music, to be successful. We want them to have larger, and larger success. Why would I not be pulling for Pandora, Spotify, Netflix, and Google? Why would I not be saying, you’re delivering my music to kids that can sit at the piano and play, “Rainbow Connection,” and share it with the world? But you also have to do the right thing, to make sure that the people that are writing the next great song have a chance to earn a living for their families. If you saw the number of studios closing in Nashville, you’d be amazed. There is fluidity right now, and there is a movement that I believe is being propelled by a certain morality to do the right thing, and I hope that it continues to spread.
As we look at the rules we operate under and make some minor adjustments, it will make a huge difference for the lives of the people who are writing and providing the music, to entertain the world.
It’s a remarkable time to be a songwriter. I am an American songwriter, and I have the great honor of working with an organization that is a great historic organization. ASCAP started in 1914, after when Giacomo Puccini came to the United States and had dinner with Victor Herbert. That evening, Herbert said the string quartet in the restaurant was playing his song, and when Puccini asked what Herbert was getting paid for it, Herbert said, “What are you talking about?” Puccini said, “In my country, there are performing rights organization that collect royalties when my music gets performed.” That was when the idea of ASCAP began. The creation of performing rights organizations really changed the lives of songwriters in America. That moment lit the fire that became ASCAP in 1914, and I feel in some ways that we’re just getting started.
You spoke about writing your truth, but can you talk a little bit about what artists and attendees can expect from this year in particular at ASCAP EXPO? What has stood out to you this year, from other years past, as a theme or area of focus?
The first time that I walked through the crowd at ASCAP EXPO, the only way that I could describe is that it felt like what I thought high school should have felt like. To be surrounded by all of that creative heat, all that spirit, and dreams, and to be able to offer them the opportunity to learn from the most successful songwriters. It’s a great opportunity, and emerging songwriters, composers, and producers get a chance to hear from top of the line industry executives on how to take their careers to the next level. We’ve had people like Meghan Trainor and Aloe Blacc attend as participants as young songwriters, and a few years later be onstage as part of an industry panel.
This year, I’m sitting down for a conversation with Questlove, and we’ll also have Wyclef Jean, Lee Ann Womack, and Victoria Monet, and that’s just a start. It’s entering its fourteenth year, and it’s the only music conference completely dedicated to music creation and what it takes to be a professional. Incidentally, there’s also an advocacy panel, where we’ll talk about what’s going on in Washington DC. It’s delightful to be coming back in the fourteenth year, in the year that we’ve just experienced with the MMA, and with the success in the EU. To quote Bob Dylan, there’s change blowing in the wind, and I think it’s blowing in the right direction.
ASCAP will host its annual ASCAP EXPO May 2nd – May 4th in Los Angeles, California.
Nick Gunther lives and writes in Philadelphia, PA. In addition to his contributions to Glide Magazine, he also publishes a monthly music newsletter at obsession.fm.
