On Wednesday (May 16), the ASCAP Foundation and the Library of Congress are putting on the 10th edition of their annual “We Write the Songs” event. The invite-only event, staged annually to commemorate the foundation’s donation of a slew of musical artifacts to the Library a decade ago, will be held in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress.
Over the years, The ASCAP Collection at the Library of Congress has grown significantly, giving Americans access to materials like photos, documents, lyric sheets, letters and other archives.
Wednesday’s event will be hosted jointly by the Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden and ASCAP Foundation president Paul Williams. The event will also include performances by several leading songwriters, such as Johntá Austin (Mariah Carey‘s “We Belong Together,” Mary J. Blige‘s “Be Without You”), Brandy Clark (Miranda Lambert‘s “Mama’s Broken Heart”), Mike Love (The Beach Boys‘ “Good Vibrations”), Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers‘ “Takin’ It to The Streets”), Jason Mraz (“I’m Yours”) and Suzanne Vega (“Tom’s Diner”).
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On Thursday (May 17), following the “We Write the Songs” celebration, many of those artists will meet with U.S. Senators in order to discuss the challenges of being a songwriter in the digital age, and to urge them to co-sponsor the Music Modernization Act, which was introduced into the Senate last week. The act was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives in late April.