Composers' Guild of Great Britain
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| Industry | Music |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1944 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Website | basca |
The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe and exists to support, protect and campaign for the interests of songwriters, lyricists and composers. It represents music writers in all genres, from song writing to media, contemporary classical to jazz and has approximately 2000 members.
The Composers Guild of Great Britain was founded in 1944 to represent composers of classical music, with Ralph Vaughan Williams elected as first President. The Songwriters' Guild of Great Britain, later known as The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors was founded in 1947 by Eric Maschwitz. The Association of Professional Composers was founded in 1976 by George Fenton to represent composers of film and TV music. In 1958 the Composers' Guild of Great Britain began publishing the journal Composer, and also published a number of catalogs of available works. In 1967 the organisation established the British Music Information Centre.
In 1999 The Association of Professional Composers (APC) and the Composers' Guild of Great Britain (CGGB) merged with the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors to provide a single, more powerful amalgamated organisation to represent its membership. The organization's current name was adopted in March, 2009. Sir Tim Rice was elected first president, and Guy Fletcher and David Stoll served as joint chairs of a nine-member Board of Directors. Three executive committees were established to administer Pop and Theatrical Music, Concert Music and Media. BASCA now has four genre committees representing Songwriters, Classical, Jazz and Media composers.
Members of BASCA include emerging songwriters and the United Kingdom's "most experienced and successful writers." A partial list of the members includes David Arnold (fellow), Harrison Birtwistle, Peter Maxwell Davies (fellow), George Fenton, Guy Garvey, Howard Goodall, Annie Lennox (fellow), Elton John (fellow), and Paul McCartney (fellow). Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards are members, as are Sting, Pete Townshend, Imogen Heap, David Gilmour, George Michael, Alex Turner, Benson Taylor, Chris Martin, Cathy Dennis, Kate Bush, Mika, Evelyn Glennie, Gary Barlow, Chrissie Hynde, Sharleen Spiteri, and Thom Yorke.
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