ASCAP Experience Features Top Songwriters Timbaland, Hitmaka, Paul Williams & More

The one-day ASCAP Experience took place in Los Angeles Wednesday, boasting a suite of panels designed to “inspire, education and connect” aspiring songwriters and composers. The reimagined event was previously known for the last 18 years as ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO.

The day began with remarks from Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee Paul Williams and featured panels like Hitmakers (featuring James Fauntleroy, Sarah Hudson, Steph Jones, Anna Waronker and Hitmaka), which detailed the journeys of some of ASCAP’s biggest hitmakers; Intelligently Navigating Artificial Intelligence (featuring Nick Lehman, Lucas Cantor Santiago and Rachel Lyske), explaining how AI will influence the music business; and Social Listening (featuring Alex Warren and Caroline Kimiko Jensen) about how social media can be employed as a tool for music makers.

It also featured song feedback from Grammy-winning songwriters and producers Darrell Brown and Neff-U. Participating songwriters submitted their works for review before the event began and the subsequent tracks were played live and critiqued by the two Grammy winners.

To highlight hip-hop, the day included a keynote conversation with Timbaland and a special Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop panel. With panelists Big Daddy Kane and Easy Mo Bee, the two shared personal accounts of how hip-hop shaped their lives and highlighted the widespread cultural impact of some of the genre’s early icons The Notorious B.I.G., Biz Markie and 2Pac.

The day ended off with The Writers Jam, featuring Joelle James, JT Harding and BUZZ performing and sharing the stories behind their biggest hit songs.