ASCAP’s “Stand with Songwriters” Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill Highlights Six Key Guiding Principles in the Age of AI

By Erik Philbrook, ASCAP Editor in Chief | Photos by Mariah Miranda Photography (except where noted)  •  October 12, 2023

A group of ASCAP award-winning songwriters and composers convened on Capitol Hill on September 21 to meet with legislators as part of ASCAP’s “Stand with Songwriters” Advocacy Day.

ASCAP members who “walked the halls” included many who performed the prior night at The ASCAP Foundation’s We Write the Songs concert at the Library of Congress: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, Matthew West and Madison Love. 

They were joined by ASCAP President and Chairman of the Board Paul Williams and other ASCAP writer and publisher Board members including Bob Bruderman, Sharon Farber, Jim Kendrick, Dan Foliart, Evan Lamberg, Desmond Child, Marti Cuevas, Michelle Lewis, Ree Guyer, Jimmy Webb and Grammy Award-winning writer-producer Henry “Cirkut” Walter, as well as ASCAP executives.

Participants urged Members of Congress to protect the rights of American music creators, defend the value of music in the age of artificial intelligence and adhere to six key, creator-centric principles for AI that were unanimously adopted by the ASCAP Board of Directors earlier this year. They are:

  1. Human Creators First: Prioritizing rights and compensation for human creativity
  2. Consent: Protecting the right to decide whether one’s work is included in an AI training license
  3. Compensation: Making sure creators are paid fairly when their work is used in ANY way by AI, which is best accomplished in a free market, NOT with government-mandated licensing that essentially eliminates consent
  4. Credit when creators’ works are used in new AI-generated music
  5. Transparency in identifying AI vs. human-generated works and retaining metadata
  6. Global Consistency: An even playing field that values intellectual property across the global music and data ecosystem

ASCAP also invited its songwriter, composer and music publisher members from all 50 states to join the effort, with email activations and opportunities to engage across its social media channels, all week long.


ASCAP’s congressional meetings followed the ASCAP Foundation’s “We Write the Songs” concert at The Library of Congress on September 19.

We Write the Songs recap

We Write the Songs: ASCAP Songwriters and Composers Bring Music and Message to Life at Library of Congress

On Wednesday, September 20, The ASCAP Foundation and The Library of Congress co-presented their popular “We Write the Songs” concert at the historic Coolidge Auditorium in the Library of Congress.

The event featured performances by top ASCAP members, including influential songwriting and production duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (“No More Drama,” Mary J. Blige; “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” Janet Jackson), renowned songwriter and producer Jermaine Dupri (“We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey; “Confessions Part II,” Usher), hit pop songwriter Madison Love ( “Kings & Queens,” Ava Max; “Turbulence,” P!nk), Broadway and stage and screen songwriting duo Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman, Dear Evan Hansen) and contemporary Christian artist and 2023 ASCAP Golden Note Award honoree Matthew West (“The Motions,” “Hello, My Name Is”).

After welcome remarks from the Chief of the Music Division for the Library of Congress Susan H. Vita, and Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, ASCAP Foundation President and ASCAP President and Chairman of the Board Paul Williams kicked off the evening’s performances. ASCAP performers were each introduced by a Member of Congress from their home district: Rep. Hank Johnson from Georgia introduced Jermaine Dupri; Rep. Ted Lieu from California introduced Madison Love; Rep. Jerry Nadler from New York introduced Pasek & Paul; Rep. Mark Green from Tennessee introduced Matthew West; and Rep. Ben Cline from Virginia introduced Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

Celebrating its 12th year, “We Write the Songs” has become a Washington tradition and an exclusive, invitation-only event for legislative and cultural dignitaries. The event took place the evening before ASCAP’s “Stand with Songwriters” Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill on September 20. 

The ASCAP Collection at The Library of Congress was established to preserve the history and create a repository for video and audio materials, photos, scores, documents and artifacts. Each is relevant to the rich history of ASCAP and its members as contributors to American culture. Some archival materials record the day-to-day workings of ASCAP; others provide insights into the life and music of individual ASCAP members. The ASCAP Collection at The Library of Congress gives historians, students and the public access to this valuable trove of musical history.


ASCAP @ The Library of Congress

Explore riches from The ASCAP Foundation Collection in this virtual exhibit, hosted by the Library of Congress. 

Visit the exhibit