ASCAP Expo lineup includes Fergie, Desmond Child and more

Some of the biggest names in music, including Fergie, Sara Bareilles, Jermaine Dupri, Desmond Child, Rodney Crowell, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, and Kelly Price are among the panelists just added to the ASCAP "I Create Music" EXPO lineup, it was announced today by ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). Now in its sixth year, the EXPO brings together a diverse group of songwriters, composers, producers and music industry leaders to participate in a broad range of panels designed to support music creators at every stage of their career. The three-day conference takes place April 28-30, 2011 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.

The latest panelist and programming additions include:

Singer/songwriter Fergie of six-time Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum group The Black Eyed Peas will join a super panel of music creators from across the musical spectrum on the EXPO's signature "We Create Music" panel to discuss common challenges, rewards and give valuable insights on how to forge a lasting career.

Singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles will interview music legend Lindsey Buckingham about his incredible career. Prior to the interview, Buckingham will be honored with ASCAP's Golden Note Award, which is presented to songwriters, composers and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones.

Desmond Child's Master Class in Songwriting will provide a unique educational opportunity for 60 randomly selected attendees to experience an intensive 75-minute class with the Grammy Award-winning songwriter/producer. During each day of the EXPO, Child will work closely with 20 attendees on the art of songwriting as he explores lyrics, melody, structure and other elements integral to a well-crafted song.

Songwriter/producer Jermaine Dupri will be interviewed by songwriter Johntà Austin as part of a series of writer and composer-focused Master Sessions. Also confirmed are singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell, songwriter/producer Dr. Luke, composer Ron Jones, songwriter/producer Antonina Armato and composer Eric Whitacre.

Producer/musician/songwriters and bass players extraordinaire Larry Klein, Marcus Miller and Don Was will discuss how they parlayed their common thread as bassists to go on and craft important works by some of the most memorable artists of the last four decades.

Songwriter/artist Kelly Price and songwriter Cri$tyle "The Ink" Johnson will participate in the Women Behind the Music panel with songwriter/artist Melanie Fiona and songwriter Andrea Martin. This panel of incredibly gifted women in R&B will share their experiences in navigating the music industry and achieving creative success.

Ari Levine of production/writing trio The Smeezingtons will join songwriter Josh Kear, songwriter/vocal producer Savan Kotecha and songwriter/producer Dan Wilson (Semisonic) on the Hitmakers panel. They will share their unique insights into what it takes to reach the top of the charts today.

Producer Boi-1da and producer/engineer Noah "40" Shebib – longtime collaborators with rapper/singer Drake – have created such hits as "Best I Ever Had," "Forever," "Over" and "Fancy." On the Deconstructing Drake panel, they will share how they work with the artist, breaking down how they take a song from idea to the studio to the top of the charts.

Performances by a diverse and successful group of songwriters, including Ryan Tedder (of OneRepublic), John Rzeznik (of Goo Goo Dolls), Claudia Brant, The Bird and the Bee (Inara George & Greg Kurstin), Steve Kipner, Rick Nowels, Dan Parsons, Tommy Sims, Jonathan Singleton, Chris Stapleton, Rufus Wainwright and others.

Also added to the EXPO lineup are Sandra Aistars (Copyright Alliance), Richard Blackstone (BMG North America), composer Bruce Broughton, Bryan Calhoun (SoundExchange), Chris Castle, Esq. (Christian L. Castle Attorneys), producer Drumma Boy, songwriter Chris DuBois (Sea Gayle Music), songwriter/producer David Frank, Jody Gerson (Sony/ATV Music Publishing), Gary Gross (Universal Publishing Production Music), Carl Jacobson (Nimbit), Allison Jones (Big Machine Label Group), Sam Kling (peermusic), Daniel Lee (Ten Ten Music Group, Inc.), composer Michael Levine, songwriter Jon Lind (Hollywood Records), Kevin Lyman (4Fini, Inc.), Matthew J. Middleton, Esq. (Simon, Eisenberg & Baum LLP), composer Trevor Morris, songwriter/performer Matt Nathanson, Don Passman, Esq. (Gang, Tyre, Ramer, and Brown, Inc.), Irwin Z. Robinson (Cromwell Music), Greg Sowders (Warner/Chappell Music), Kathy Spanberger (peermusic), songwriter/producer Matt Squire, producer Symbolyc One (S1), Adam Taylor (APM Music), Barbara Vander Linde (Disney Music Publishing) and composer Doug Wood (The Omni Music Library).

They will join Marco Beltrami & Wes Craven, Bernie Worrell (of Parliament/Funkadelic and Talking Heads) & Vernon Reid (of Living Color), Van Dyke Parks & Rufus Wainwright, Darrell Brown, Mike Elizondo, No I.D., Kevin Rudolf, The Legendary Traxster, Mike Viola and a host of other music industry experts and talented music creators at what promises to be another must-attend event.

For a regularly updated list of panelists, please visit www.ascap.com/expo.

The ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO is the premier conference for songwriters, composers and producers. It covers all genres of music and includes panels, workshops, master classes, keynotes, One-on-One sessions, song critiquing, networking events, product displays, state-of-the-art technology demonstrations, performances, and more. All music creators, producers, publishers and executives – regardless of their performing rights organization affiliation – will benefit from this unique creative event, which is designed around personal interaction, education and networking.

Discount pricing is available through March 31st. For more information, and to register, please visit www.ascap.com/expo.