“Creating opportunities for new composers to contribute in a meaningful way to our industry is a passion of mine, and I’m looking forward to working alongside SESAC to make this happen.”
As we launch SESAC SCORES: The Beck Diversity Project, we embark on a five-year mentorship and grant program. The project is designed to make a meaningful impact on the historically low number of women and people of color hired in the film composer community.
The inaugural project is a collaborative effort between long-time SESAC composer Christophe Beck and the SESAC Film & Television team, led by SESAC Chairman and CEO John Josephson and Erin Collins, Vice President of Film, Television and Developing Media. The $1 million commitment, divided over the next five years, will be used for educational programming and composer workshops.
We teamed up with New Music USA to provide grants to support films already in production, to help enhance and deliver a better score. Projects considered for the grant program will be open to any narrative or documentary film and the fund will support composers from a wide range of musical backgrounds. Formal applications are now being considered. Click here for more information and to apply.
CHRISTOPHE BECK
Christophe Beck is the award-winning composer of films such as Frozen, Frozen 2, the Hangover series, Ant-Man, Edge of Tomorrow, Waiting for Superman, Under the Tuscan Sun, and many others. The Canadian composer began playing piano at the age of five, studied music at Yale, and attended the USC film scoring program under the tutelage of composers like Jerry Goldsmith. He started composing in television at the personal recommendation of Disney music legend Buddy Baker, and was soon writing for the hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, earning an Emmy® Award.
JOHN JOSEPHSON, Chairman and CEO, SESAC
John Josephson initially invested in SESAC in 1992 and has been a director of the company as well as a strong advocate for artists’ rights continually since that time. Since his appointment as CEO in 2014, SESAC has expanded its music licensing activities across multiple rights categories and select international territories, transitioning SESAC from a performance rights to a “multi-rights” Music Rights Organization.
Under Josephson’s leadership, SESAC acquired the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) as well as Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI), formed Mint Digital Services in partnership with SUISA, and, in 2017, was sold to Blackstone Group’s Core Equity fund. He has also overseen prominent signings of Adele, Mariah Carey, George Clinton, Randy Newman, R.E.M., Zac Brown Band and many more.
SESAC continues to experience substantial growth year over year. Josephson currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Paley Center for Media and the Board of Directors of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
ERIN COLLINS, VP FILM & TELEVISION, SESAC
Erin Collins is the Vice President of Film, Television, Developing Media for SESAC, where she oversees the Los Angeles-based department servicing SESAC’s composers and publishers. Erin began her career at Warner Bros. Publications where she was responsible for creating multi-media marketing and advertising campaigns. She then served as Director of Marketing & Music Production for APM Music where she was in charge of creating and managing all creative, promotions, and portfolio marketing to major television networks, HBO, Fox, and many others. Before joining SESAC, Erin was a producer, music supervisor, and score supervisor working with clients such as Ubisoft, ESPN, Activision, and THQ. Collins holds a music degree from Northern Illinois University.