SESAC Announces SESAC SCORES: The Beck Diversity Project
Five-Year Mentorship Program Will Support Underrepresented Composers in Film
LOS ANGELES, June 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SESAC, the only Music Rights Organization in the U.S., announced the launch of SESAC SCORES: The Beck Diversity Project, a five-year mentorship and grant program, at its annual Film & Television Composer Awards, last night, June 6. The project is designed to make a meaningful impact on the historically low number of women and people of color hired in the film composer community.
The inaugural project is a collaborative effort between long-time SESAC composer Christophe Beck and the SESAC Film & Television team, led by SESAC Chairman and CEO John Josephson and Erin Collins, Vice President of Film, Television and Developing Media. The $1 million commitment, divided over the next five years, will be used for educational programming and composer workshops.
"We're thrilled to embrace a program that helps foster diversity in the audiovisual creative community and which empowers creators to pursue their passion," said Josephson. "Working with Chris to help execute his vision to provide the needed resources to underrepresented composers is exciting for all of us at SESAC and an important way that we can demonstrate our commitment to the music community."
"Creating opportunities for new composers to contribute in a meaningful way to our industry is a passion of mine, and I'm looking forward to working alongside SESAC to make this happen," says Beck.
In addition, there will also be a national application process to select individuals for grants to support films already in production, which are short on funds, to enhance and deliver a better score. Projects considered for the grant program will be open to any narrative film and the fund will support composers from a wide range of musical backgrounds.
SESAC SCORES: The Beck Diversity Project will host its first workshop at SESAC's Santa Monica office in July. The weekend programs, led by Beck and a curated team, will offer a creative environment and educational support during a hands-on composing workshop. Applications for the initial workshop will be accepted at www.SesacScores.com. Additional workshops will be announced throughout the year.
Formal applications and a review process for the grant program, which will launch later in the year will also be announced in the coming weeks.
The Film & Television Composer Awards is SESAC's annual dinner event honoring music composers in the categories of film, network television, local television, cable television, advertising, and streaming media.
About Christophe Beck:
Christophe Beck is the award-winning composer of films such as Frozen, the Hangover series, Ant-Man, Edge of Tomorrow, Waiting for Superman, Under the Tuscan Sun, and many others. The Canadian composer began playing piano at the age of five, studied music at Yale, and attended the USC film scoring program under the tutelage of composers like Jerry Goldsmith. He started composing in television at the personal recommendation of Disney music legend Buddy Baker, and was soon writing for the hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, earning an Emmy® Award.
About SESAC Holdings, Inc.:
SESAC Holdings is the only U.S.-based Music Rights Organization that administers public performance, mechanical, and other rights. SESAC Holdings is unique in its ability to offer singular licenses for the works of its affiliated writers and publishers that aggregate both performance and mechanical rights in order to drive greater efficiency in licensing for music users, as well as enhanced value for music creators and publishers. Its businesses operate on a sophisticated information technology and data platform to provide timely, efficient royalty collection and distribution.
SESAC Holdings' subsidiaries are some of the most well-known companies in music licensing and administration. SESAC Performing Rights is the second oldest and most progressive performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC Holdings' acquisition of the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) accelerated its transition to a "multi-rights" organization with HFA's deep publisher relations and mechanical licensing history. Following the HFA acquisition, HFA's administrative service business unit adopted the Rumblefish brand of its sister company. Rumblefish simplifies business for digital services, publishers, labels, artists and apps. Rumblefish's transparent composition and recording administration, data and royalty management, licensing and network monetization allow clients to focus on their core business. Rights. Simplified. Royalties. Amplified.
SESAC Holdings has offices in New York, Nashville, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, London and Munich.
Media Contact:
Edie Emery
SESAC Inc.
[email protected]
615.963.3496
SOURCE SESAC Inc.
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