James A. Rocco and Renee Prola Announce the Launch of Thirty Saints Music Licensing

James A. Rocco worked for a dozen years at The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, producing, presenting, and administering major stage productions. He is also an Award-Winning director, writer, and singer who created Songbook Live, a series of "edutainment" concerts that chart the evolution of popular music and its effect on contemporary culture.

Acquiring permission to include songs like I Will Survive and Disco Inferno in his show, Streakin' thru the 70s, sparked his interest in rights clearances. So when Streakin' thru the 70s was published, he got to work renewing the licenses for Nite Club Confidential, winner of the LA Drama Critics Circle and Carbonell Awards.

Rocco said, "As I was pursuing the rights for the songs from Nite Club Confidential, I had to do some deep diving to find the owners of those classic songs. It led to phone calls and meetings with the families of the songwriters. In addition, the directors of some major music publishing houses and colleagues in rights clearances were gracious, encouraging, and generous in teaching me the ropes. Not only was I fascinated, but I was also hooked."

Rocco worked extensively with Roger Bean at Stage Rights Publishing during the pandemic. He acquired and renewed licenses for a dozen musicals, including The Marvelous Wonderettes, Glee Club Edition, Winter Wonderettes, Ted Swindley's Honky Tonk Angels, and Summer of Love. When Broadway Licensing acquired Stage Rights, the time was right for Rocco to break out and start Thirty Saints Music Licensing, a division of Thirty Saints Productions and The Songbook Live Experience.

Renee Prola, the Ordway's Company Manager from 2007 to 2017, has joined Thirty Saints Music Licensing as the new company's Associate Manager. Prola said, "During our years together at The Ordway, Rocco and I regularly advised and consulted on licensing and collaborative agreements with colleagues and newcomers. Rejoining forces seemed like the natural thing to do."

Thirty Saints Music Licensing is a division of Thirty Saints Productions and The Songbook Experience, Live!

Clients include Stage Rights Publishing, Broadway Licensing, and members of the Broadway League, The Dramatist Guild, and The National Alliance of Musical Theatre.

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