Call for Jazz writers

BASCA is reaching out to creators of new jazz to join the BASCA community which represents music writers in all genres.

Campaigning

BASCA campaigns on a number of issues which affect writers of music in all genres including Jazz.

Current and recent campaigns include:

• Licensing of music in small venues
• Submissions to the Hargreaves Review investigating whether copyright law is fit for the digital age
• Establishing and hosting an independent Composers Council bringing together composers who are concerned about Sound And Music

BASCA works closely with all the relevant music industry organisations which enable it to put forward a strong voice for composers. It has representatives on the board of PRS and UK Music, and also works closly with PPL, AIM and several Europe-wide organisations. For more information about BASCA's campaigning work, visit the Public Affairs section of the BASCA website.

Awards

Jazz is celebrated by BASCA in all areas of its work and jazz writers have been recognised at all three of BASCA’s award ceremonies. The Contemporary Jazz Composition category of the British Composer Awards has been awarded to Jason Yarde, (2009), James Hamilton (2010) and Tommy Evans (2011). Jazz composers have also been shortlisted in other categories of the awards including Gwilym Simcock and Julian Joseph.

Julian Joseph was awarded a Gold Badge Award in 2010 and in 2012 BASCA awarded a Jazz Award to Stan Tracey at the presigious Ivor Novello Awards.

Membership benefits

BASCA membership brings a whole host of benefits to music writers in all genres including the following:

For composers who need help with the business side of music, BASCA provides advice sheets and a programme of events dealing with a wide range of issues from rights to marketing. There is a tax helpline and a legal helpline and we provide sample contracts and agreements.

All composers have a dedicated web page on the Directory section of the BASCA website.

Professional members have exclusive access to the services of Academy Recordings, a not-for-profit record label enabling composers in all genres to release recordings which are then available on iTunes, emusic and Amazon.

Services in development include a First Performance database of Classical and Jazz works on the BASCA website and a European-wide database of composers who work in education.

A full list of membership benefits can be found on the membership section of this site.

Governance

BASCA is a composer-led organisation governed by a Board and three Executive Committees drawn from its membership. Jazz composers are represented on the Classical and Jazz Executive Committee (CJEC), the other committees representing Songwriters and Media writers.

CJEC member Issie Barratt has led on a number of Jazz initiatives, including setting up seminars and meetings of jazz composers to find out what issues affect them and how BASCA can conduct campaigns and provide services to the benefit of jazz composers.