Nashville, TN, June 7, 2010: ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) has announced the appointments of Michael Martin and Robert Filhart to its newly established regional office in Nashville. Martin has been appointed Senior Creative Director and Filhart will take on the position of Creative Manager.
"We're delighted to bring the diverse talents of Michael and Robert to our organization,” said Tim DuBois, VP and Managing Executive of operations at ASCAP Nashville. "Their experience, passion for the craft, and dedication to writers and artists wonderfully complement the overall vision of ASCAP, as well as the new elevated role in expanding and enhancing our relationships with our writers and publishers across all musical genres."
Martin comes to ASCAP from Extreme Writers Group (EWG), established in 2000, where he was Partner and Co-Founder with Jason Houser and shared responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the publishing and content development companies. EWG has enjoyed numerous #1s, including the recent success of Rascal Flatts' "Here Comes Goodbye" and George Strait's "I Saw God Today," as well as the current Top 5 single "Crazy Town" by Jason Aldean, the 14-week #1 song on the Christian chart with "The Motions" by Matthew West, and hits with Big & Rich's "Lost In This Moment" and Jason Aldean’s "Johnny Cash" and "Why." Additionally, EWG had one of the 10 most performed songs of 2004 with "Sweet Southern Comfort" (Buddy Jewell) and of 2006 with Heartland’s "I Loved Her First." Martin and Houser also founded Seeds Family Worship in 2002. Martin began his career in music publishing as VP of Creative Services at Moraine Music, where he was instrumental in establishing the company as a competitive independent publisher. Martin has a B.S. from the University of Texas Arlington.
"I have loved being a music publisher, and working closely with writers and artists and the songs they create is an amazing process,” said Martin. “To continue to be a part of this process while working with the ASCAP community and its members is an opportunity I am thrilled to be taking."
Filhart joins ASCAP from his most recent post as an Associate Manager at Dottore-DuBois Artist Management. In this position, he handled day-to-day activities for Matt Jenkins and Connie Smith. He was previously employed with Still Working Music, where he worked primarily as a song plugger while also handling day-to-day logistics for Danielle Peck. He began his career interning for Universal South Records and, later, at Major Bob Music/Bob Doyle & Associates. Filhart graduated with a B.S. in Business/Music Industry Management from Ferris State University in Michigan.
“I am very excited to be a part of this amazing creative team that is ASCAP Nashville,” Filhart said. “The foundation for a successful music industry has always been great songs created by great writers, and I am looking forward to creating opportunities to help our members do what they do best.”
