|
|
 |
04/28/2016 - ASCAP’s highest honor, The Founders Award, went to John Mellencamp for his
exceptional contributions to music. Talk show host Tavis Smiley, who presented
the award, gave a moving introduction about Mellencamp’s “Authority Song” being
the anthem that he and fellow students at Indiana University-- in Mellencamp's
hometown of Bloomington -- adopted as they protested the death of a black
student named Denver Smith, who was killed by white officers after they shot him
six times in the back.
In a passionate speech, Mellencamp talked about “growing up in public with my
songwriting. It was a good thing for me back then, in the early ‘70s, that there
was a thing called artist development, when artists could find themselves and
their voice,” he said. “I think I made five or six albums before I sold five or
six albums. Lucky for me I came along at that time. Now, today, there is no
artist development and I’m not sure I’d want to become a songwriter today."
Mellencamp called for the industry to come together to stop free music on the
Internet before more damage is done. “If not, then the quality of songwriting
and the quality of music and the quality of the future of young songwriters is
going to diminish down to nothing important and it’s just going to be no artist
development and our business will shrink to “do you remember when.'" He then
performed “Longest Days” from his 2008 album, Life, Death, Love and Freedom. Read More
|
