Stargate's Tor Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen Receive Songwriter of the Year Honors at 27th Annual ASCAP Awards in London

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - October 11, 2007) - The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) honored the top writer and publisher members of the PRS -- the U.K.'s Performing Right Society -- at a ceremony held last night (October 10) at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Hosted by ASCAP Senior Vice President, International Roger Greenaway and Vice President, Membership Seán Devine, the gala dinner and awards presentation honored those writer and publisher members of the PRS whose repertory is licensed by ASCAP and was among its most performed works in the U.S. during 2006.

"We're very pleased to celebrate the achievements of the writer and publisher members of the PRS whose music is represented by ASCAP in the United States," said Greenaway. "It has been a particular privilege to salute our Songwriter of the Year honorees, Tor and Mikkel, and to welcome the legendary Charles Strouse to our event as he memorably performed a number of his classic songs."

Norwegian songwriters/producers Tor Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen, collectively known as Stargate, earned the coveted title of ASCAP Songwriter of the Year for penning an impressive seven of the most performed songs of the past year: Ne-Yo's "So Sick" and "Sexy Love," Rihanna's "Unfaithful," Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away," Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable," Lionel Richie's "I Call It Love" and Mario Vazquez's "Gallery." The duo also collected ASCAP's Song of the Year award for Ne-Yo's R&B ballad, "So Sick." Their chart-topping success earned them the title of #1 Hot Producers on the Billboard Year End Chart in 2006. Earlier this year, they picked up a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemann), three ASCAP Pop Music Awards and two ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.

EMI Music Publishing UK was named ASCAP Publisher of the Year. ASCAP CEO John A. LoFrumento presented the award to Managing Director Guy Moot, who commented, "We're obviously very proud to be named ASCAP's Publisher of the Year, which is recognition for the incredible work of our songwriters. For Stargate to pick up seven awards, including Songwriter of the Year, is particularly pleasing in a year that has seen them make a huge breakthrough in the U.S. With other wins for Yusuf Islam, Phil Collins, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Lenky, it's good to see the diversity and breadth of our catalog being acknowledged." This is the fourth time that EMI Music Publishing has been named ASCAP Publisher of the Year in the U.K.

As part of ASCAP's ongoing commitment to support emerging music creators at a grassroots level, Bat For Lashes and The View were honored with special ASCAP awards. Bat For Lashes received the ASCAP Vanguard Award for her debut album, "Fur and Gold," and The View was honored with the ASCAP College Award for their platinum-selling debut album, "Hats Off To The Buskers."

Bat For Lashes is the work of Natasha Khan, a British singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist who lives in Brighton, England. Her debut album, "Fur and Gold," made the shortlist for the 2007 Mercury Prize and the video for her debut single, "What's A Girl To Do" has been nominated for the Video Star award at this year's MTV European Music Awards. Bat For Lashes was selected to perform at ASCAP's prestigious "ASCAP Presents..." showcase at South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX in March this year. She is currently on a two-month tour of the U.S. and Canada. This is the first time that the Vanguard Award has been presented at ASCAP's U.K. ceremony. Past honorees have included The Arcade Fire, Beck, Modest Mouse, the Strokes and Jack Johnson, among others.

The View is a four-piece band from Dundee, Scotland comprising songwriter/bassist Kieran Webster, songwriter/lead singer Kyle Falconer, lead guitarist Pete Reilly and drummer Steve Morrison. The band has a reputation for being one of the U.K.'s most exciting live acts and made their U.S. debut at a concert in New York City earlier this year. "Hats Off To The Buskers," featuring hit singles "Same Jeans," "Superstar Tradesman" and "Wasted Little DJ's" went to number one in the U.K. charts in January 2007. The album hit U.S. stores in May and features three bonus tracks exclusive to the U.S. release. They made the shortlist for the 2007 Mercury Prize and received a Best New Act nomination for the Q Awards 2007. Past honorees have included The Cribs, Keane, Franz Ferdinand, Chemical Brothers, Belle & Sebastian and Radiohead, among others.

Honorees in the Film and TV Theme categories were Erran Baron Cohen ("Borat"), Patrick Doyle ("Eragon"), Sir John Tavener ("The Children of Men"), Alex Heffes ("The Last King of Scotland"), Anne Dudley ("Tristan and Isolde"), Dario Marianelli ("V for Vendetta"), Keith Strachan and Matthew Strachan ("Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"), Catherine Dennis, Julian Gingell and Barry Stone ("American Idol"), Elizabeth Fraser ("House"), and Dan McGrath and Josh Philips ("Dancing with the Stars").

Among the songwriters with multiple award-winning songs were: Tor Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen with seven songs; and Coldplay, Dido and U2 with two songs each.

Charles Strouse, a luminary of Broadway, Hollywood, television, and pop and concert music, highlighted the evening with a special performance. Strouse, who will be celebrating his 80th birthday next year, is best known for his legendary Tony Award-winning Broadway musicals, "BYE BYE BIRDIE," "APPLAUSE" and "ANNIE." His other credits range from the 1958 girl group hit, "Born Too Late" to motion picture scores for "BONNIE & CLYDE," "THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S" and "ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN" to the TV theme from "ALL IN THE FAMILY."

For more information, including a complete list of winners, go to www.ascap.com.

About ASCAP

Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 300,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP has representation arrangements with over 90 music rights organizations such that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American Performing Rights Organization owned and governed by its writer and publisher members.