Joel Beckerman, Rudy Perez

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has elected Joel Beckerman and Rudy Pérez as new writer members to the ASCAP Board of Directors.

“ASCAP is the only member-run US performing rights organization, with a Board made up solely of writers and publishers,” said ASCAP President and Chairman of the Board Paul Williams. “In tackling the challenges of today’s music creators, the ASCAP Board of Directors takes its responsibility very seriously. We welcome Joel Beckerman and Rudy Pérez to the Board and know that we can rely on their individual knowledge and experiences as we work together to build a stronger, more secure future for ASCAP members.”

Beckerman is a composer, producer and the founder of Man Made Music – a strategic music and sound studio in New York and Los Angeles. Man Made is dedicated to impacting everyday experiences across entertainment, technology, spaces, products and devices for people everywhere. Beckerman has created original scores for over 50 television series and specials across major networks including CBS, ABC, FX, NBC, and A&E. As a television soundtrack producer, Beckerman has collaborated with a wide range of artists, songwriters and composers ranging from John Legend and John Williams to will.i.am and the late James Horner. He and his team have also developed music for global giants such as Disney, AT&T, HBO, IMAX, Hulu and the Super Bowl on NBC. He is the co-author of  The Sonic Boom: How Sound Transforms the Way We Think, Feel, and Buy, a treatise on the topic he calls “sonic humanism.” Beckerman has received ASCAP’s Most Performed Themes award for 10 consecutive years. He is a former board member of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and worked with fellow ASCAP board member Dan Foliart to establish the SCL in New York.

Pérez is an international songwriter, producer, arranger, entrepreneur and philanthropist. During the last 30 years, he has composed over 1,000 songs, more than 300 of which have become #1 or top ten hits. He is a founder of the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS), The Latin Grammys as well as co-founder of the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. Pérez has written and produced tracks for artists including Beyoncé, Julio Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, Il Divo, Natalie Cole, Michael Bolton, Luis Miguel, Jose Feliciano, Marc Anthony, Jon Secada, Cyndi Lauper, Luis Fonsi and more. He is the first Latin record producer to be named the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks Producer of the Year for four consecutive years, and has been recognized as ASCAP Latin Songwriter of the Year five times. In 2010, Billboard Magazine named Pérez Producer of the Decade for having more #1 and top 10 hits chart from 2000 to 2010 than any other Latin producer in the magazine’s history. Pérez has been called “the producer-songwriter with the Midas touch.” He has received over 500 gold and platinum album awards, and five Grammys with 19 Grammy nominations.

Lee Brice will release his fourth album for Curb Records on Nov. 3. The self-titled, 15-song project features the single “Boy,” as well as tracks including “Story To Tell,” co-written with Edwin McCain and Phillip Lammonds.

“My hero came to my garage, and we wrote two songs,” Brice says of McCain. “Before I came to town, I knew Edwin McCain and his music; went to his concert every year at the House of Blues. Those records, I knew by heart growing up… and he has a lot of the same Southern influences. He knows those same things that matter to me, they’re in his music.”

Brice plays the majority of lead guitar on the album, and co-wrote 11 of the album’s tracks.

“When I started, I wanted this record to be groovy, stripped down to the message and the feel. There are no computer tricks, no artificial sounds. Songs that are pleasing to the heart — songs that make you feel something in your heart — they don’t need all that stuff,” Brice says. “Even when it sounds like a computer, I promise, we figured out a way to make that sound. To me, being real was everything. I wanted to put a little piece of everything about me, everything I am on this record. No two songs are about the same things, but somehow it all hangs together.”

Lee Brice Track Listing:
1. What Keeps You Up At Night (Lee Brice, Jessi Alexander, Ross Copperman, Pete Wilson)
2. Little Things (Lee Brice, Jaren Johnston, Neil Mason)
3. American Nights (Mike Walker, Austin Jenckes, Jeff Middleton)
4. Boy (Jon Nite, Nicolle Galyon)
5. They Won’t Forget About Us (Lee Brice, Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Ashley Gorley)
6. I Don’t Smoke (Lee Brice, Billy Montana, Jon Stone, John Bollinger) *Warren Haynes/Guitars
7. You Can’t Help Who You Love (Lee Brice, Jon Stone, Ashley Gorley)
8. Rumor (Lee Brice, Kyle Jacobs, Ashley Gorley)
9. The Locals (Lee Brice, Jon Stone, Brian Bunn)
10. Songs In The Kitchen (Lee Brice, Rob Hatch, Lance Miller)
11. Story To Tell (Little Bird) (Lee Brice, Phillip Lammonds, Edwin McCain)
12. Have A Good Day (Lee Brice, Billy Montana, Randy Montana)
13. Even With My Eyes Closed (Jaren Johnston, Michael Heeney, Neil Mason)
14. Dixie Highway (Lee Brice, Jon Stone, Matraca Berg)
15. Best Part Of Me (Phillip Lammonds, Chris Gelbuda)