The National Music Publishers Association's charitable foundation announced on Tuesday it has created endowments for songwriting scholarships at Belmont University and Middle Tennessee State University.
The $50,000 contribution to Belmont will be matched by the university to create a $100,000 endowment. The MTSU gift is for $25,000 and marks the first songwriting endowment at the university.
NMPA is a trade association that advocates for music publishers on an array of issues. The gift was from NMPA's foundation SONGS, which stands for Supporting Our Next Generation of Songwriters. The foundation was created specifically to help aspiring songwriters.
"We are thrilled to start the foundation’s work by supporting those who want to learn about the craft, and need and deserve financial help to do so," SONGS president David Israelite said. "We are grateful for Belmont University’s willingness to match our donation, and we are very excited about being able to launch the inaugural MTSU songwriting-specific scholarship program.”
James Elliott, who chairs Belmont's songwriting program, said the endowment is a wonderful way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the university offering a songwriting major.
"We are thrilled to receive this endowment gift from the NMPA SONGS foundation as it will support the next generation of hit songwriters currently studying at Belmont," Elliott said.
Both universities have rich histories in the local music industry, serving as the launching pads for leaders in every facet of the music business.
The SONGS foundation's board of directors includes Steven Tyler, Kara DioGuardi, Jewel, Craig Balsam, Golnar Khosrowshahi, Lee Thomas Miller in addition to Israelite, Danielle Aguirre and Charlotte Sellmyer from NMPA.
"I am thrilled that the NMPA's SONGS foundation has created a new scholarship for our songwriting students," said Beverly Keel, who chairs MTSU's Recording Industry Department in the College of Media and Entertainment. "We are so appreciative of their investment in our students' futures. Their support means so much to our students, who will be encouraged to work even harder at improving their songwriting craft as they continue to be inspired by the work of the foundation's board members."
Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and nrau@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tnnaterau.