Press Release

Legendary Songwriters Rally Against Controversial "La Cienega" Ruling.

CONGRESSIONAL COPYRIGHT DEBATE HEATS UP IN WASHINGTON:  LEGENDARY SONGWRITERS RALLY AGAINST CONTROVERSIAL "La Cienega" RULING

Washington, D.C. -- In what is probably the most significant gathering of legendary American songwriters fighting for their rights in Washington, twenty pop music pioneers joined National Music Publishers' Association President & CEO Edward P. Murphy to rally against the controversial "La Cienega" ruling on pre-1978 recordings.

The federal court ruling, "La Cienega Music Co. v. ZZ Top," threatens virtually every song written in America before 1978 with loss of copyright protection -- jeopardizing the creative rights and livelihoods of tens of thousands of American songwriters.

"We implore Congress to save America's copyrights and safeguard $1.2 billion in annual revenues, much of which is earned outside the US," Murphy stated.

"La Cienega must not be held hostage to other legislation. It must be marked up immediately before America's greatest resource -- its songwriters -- are stripped bare, unable to earn a living," he emphasized.

The songwriting delegation included:

Herb Alpert, Leader of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass

Alan & Marilyn Bergman ("The Way We Were", "The Windmills of Your Mind")

Mike Stoller ("Hound Dog", "Stand By Me")

John Sebastian ("Do You Believe In Magic", "Welcome Back")

Felix Cavalieri, Co-Founder, The Young Rascals ("Groovin'", "Beautiful Morning")

Cy Coleman, Broadway Musical Composer (Sweet Charity, Barnum, The Life)

Lamont Dozier ("You Keep Me Hangin' On", "My World Is Empty Without You, Babe" [For Diana Ross and the Supremes])

Bobby Weinstein ("Goin' Out of My Head", "Hurts so Bad" [for Little Anthony and the Imperials])

Guy Clark ("Desperadoes Waiting For A Train" [For Willie Nelson], "Baton Rouge"[For Garth Brooks])

Irving Burgie ("Day-o [The Banana Boat Song]", "Jamaica Farewell" [For Harry Belafonte])

John Hartford ("Gentle On My Mind" [For Glen Campbell])

Dennis Morgan ("Kansas City Lights [for Steve Wariner]" , "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" [For Barbara Mandrell])

Wayland Holyfield ("Could I Have This Dance" [for Anne Murray], "Till the Rivers All Run Dry" [for Don Williams])

Jerry Fuller ("Travelin' Man" [For Ricky Nelson and Don McLean])

Chip Davis ("Convoy", Fresh Aire I-IV album series)

Randy Sharp ("A Tender Lie", "Take Your Love Away")

Ginnie Mancini, widow of Henry Mancini, ("Moon River", "The Days of Wine and Roses")

Ingrid Croce, widow of Jim Croce ("Bad Bad Leroy Brown", "Time In a Bottle")

Today, the songwriter and music publisher delegation met with key members of Congress and the administration to urge prompt passage of pending legislation correcting the La Cienega ruling.

"Unless legislation is passed to safeguard the rights of our creators and music publishers," concluded Murphy, "the La Cienega ruling will suddenly decimate the lives of the creative geniuses who have made American music the worldwide cultural force it is."

The National Music Publishers' Association, founded in 1917, works to protect and advance the interests of the music publishing industry. With over 600 members, the NMPA represents the most important and influential music publishing firms throughout the United States. The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. a licensing subsidiary of NMPA, provides an information source, clearing house, and monitoring service for licensing musical copyrights, and represents 17,000 music publishers.