Ralph Peer, Advocate for Musicians in Digital Age, Receives Two Lifetime Achivement Awards

Today, June 19th, Ralph Peer, II, Chairman and CEO of peermusic, will become the first publisher to receive awards from the two largest music publishers groups in the US: the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) and the Music Publishers Association (MPA). He will be the first person to have received Lifetime Achievement Awards from both of these associations, which coincidentally will be given within days of each other in New York.

On Wednesday, June 17th, the NMPA honored Ralph at its annual meeting with their Lifetime Services Award for his career in music publishing.

"The Lifetime Service Award not only honors Ralph's successes as a music publisher, but also the countless ways he has given back to the industry. From sponsoring scholarships to his 44 years on the NMPA Board, he has spent decades fostering the great songwriters of our time, and making the industry better for those to come," said David Israelite, NMPA President and CEO.

On Friday, June 19th, the MPA will recognize Ralph with its Lifetime Achievement Award at its Annual Meeting in honor of his tireless advocacy for music creators and publishers around the world. Celebrated peermusic Classical composer Mohammed Fairouz will present him with his award. Fairouz became the youngest composer on the Deutsche Grammophon label to have an album dedicated to his works with the 2015 release of Follow, Poet.

Kathleen Marsh, President of the MPA and Vice Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Musicnotes said, "Ralph Peer's professional life has mirrored the Music Publishers Association's core mission of music copyright advocacy and enforcement through his lifetime of service to music creators and publishers. He has dedicated his life to music publishing and he has shared his time and energy to the betterment of not only his own business, but to the industry as a whole. Our industry and our musical culture is better because of Ralph Peer's unselfish dedication to music."

"I am most grateful and honored to receive these awards from my music publishing colleagues. Amongst challenges in both the consumer music market and legislative environment facing publishers today," Ralph Peer goes on to say, "the shift to streaming and the struggle to ensure proper compensation for it is a crucial issue for all publishers. We need to ensure efficiency, transparency and full composer compensation with fair rules allowing for the opportunity of all songs performed, independent of genre or current popularity to be included in the payment sample employed. We need to be inclusive of all sectors of our music community even when compositions may have a limited or specialist audience."

About Ralph Peer, II - Ralph Peer, II, Chair and CEO of peermusic, oversees a global network of music publishing companies operating from 30 offices in 28 countries. With well over a quarter of a million titles in the company's catalogue, and songs that vary from country, blues, jazz and pop to Latin, concert and rock 'n' roll, Ralph Peer, II directs the largest privately owned company of its kind in the world.

A respected authority on copyright, Ralph is Vice President and Director of the National Music Publishers' Association (U.S.A.) and the Harry Fox Agency. He is a lifetime Director and past President of the Country Music Association and served for many years as a Publisher/Director of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). In the international arena, Peer is past Chairman and a current Director of the Brussels-based International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP/CIEM). He served for a number of years on the board of MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society, U.K.).

He is a former Trustee of the Copyright Society of the USA for whom he delivered the 1983 Jean Geiringer lecture in International Copyright Law. In 2001, the American Songwriters Hall of Fame honored him with their music publisher's award.

Peer serves as CEO of digitalpressure.com, Inc., peermusic's digital distribution service. He was a founding director of eMusic, the first record company with a primary focus on the internet as a platform for the sale and electronic distribution of music.

Peer received his Bachelor's degree from Stanford University and his Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Business School. Peer holds an honorary doctorate of philosophy from Witten/Herdecke University in Germany.

Mr. Peer is based in San Francisco, California.

About peermusic - peermusic is the largest privately-owned music publishing company in the world. In an industry dominated by the major music conglomerates and increasingly attractive to private equity, peermusic continues to grow while remaining family-held after over eighty years. With well over a quarter of a million titles in its catalog, peermusic works in all genres including pop, Latin, country, classical, jazz, blues and rock.

As a music publisher, the Company acquires, protects and collects the rights of its songwriters. When peermusic was founded, the royalties associated with these rights often came from printed sheet music or dance hall performances. Today, these royalties come from a variety of sources including radio and television, concerts and digital downloads and streams. peermusic has remained at the forefront of these changing royalty sources, ensuring that writers signed with peermusic receive compensation for their works. Ralph Peer II, the Company's Chairman and CEO, is a noted expert in copyright in the digital era and has played a key role in ensuring fair compensation for songwriters in this challenging time.

peermusic is known for its global presence and worldwide activity with 30 offices around the world, putting its global footprint on a similar scale to the major music publishers. peermusic's writers enjoy collections directly from each of these offices, while peermusic can still provide personal, boutique service to each writer it represents.

peermusic's writers are on today's Billboard charts with hits performed by Nick Jonas, Ed Sheeran, John Legend and Drake. The Company continues its long history in Nashville with major country stars topping the Billboard charts with peermusic hits including Jason Aldean, Lee Brice, Luke Bryan and Rascal Flatts. On the Latin charts, artists including Prince Royce, Chayanne, Victor Manuelle and Chocquibtown are all in top charting positions with peermusic songs. Royce, an exclusive peermusic writer, enjoying success on the English-language charts with songs featuring Snoop Dogg, Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull.

peermusic also champions the work of iconic classical composers Charles Ives, Silvestre Revueltas, Mieczyslaw Weinberg and others, on top of managing an active roster that includes celebrated figures Morten Lauridsen, Arturo Márquez, Derek Bermel and Mohammed Fairouz - one of the most frequently performed, recorded and commissioned young composers today.

The company is proud to represent a vast catalogue of hits over its history, including standards "You Are My Sunshine", "Old Time Rock'n'Roll", "Besame Mucho", "Got to Be Real", "Walk Like an Egyptian", "Umbrella" and "Single Ladies". One of peermusic's oldest copyrights, "When You're Gone", is back on the charts performed by Anna Kendrick "Cups" in Pitch Perfect 2. peermusic.com

About The Music Publishers Association - Founded in 1895, the Music Publishers Association is the oldest music trade organization in the United States, fostering communication among publishers, dealers, music educators, and all ultimate users of music. This non-profit association addresses itself to issues pertaining to every area of music publishing with an emphasis on the issues relevant to the publishers of print music for concert and educational purposes.
mpa.org.

About The National Music Publishers Association - Founded in 1917, the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) is the trade association representing all American music publishers and their songwriting partners. Its mission is to protect, promote, and advance the interests of music's creators. The NMPA is the voice of both small and large music publishers, and is the leading advocate for publishers and their songwriter partners in the nation's capital and in every area where publishers do business. The goal of NMPA is to protect its members' property rights on the legislative, litigation, and regulatory fronts. In this vein, the NMPA continues to represent its members in negotiations to shape the future of the music industry by fostering a business environment that furthers both creative and financial success. The NMPA has remained the most active and vocal proponent for the interests of music publishers in the U.S. and throughout the world, a continuing tradition of which the association is very proud.
nmpa.org