
Peter Asher
Photo: Cheriss May/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Advocacy Spotlight: Peter Asher's Fab Advocate Track Record & New Beatles Book
Few careers in music have spanned as much time, distance and greatness as Peter Asher's. More than 55 years after his musical journey began, Asher stands today as one of music's strongest advocates, fighting for the rights of creators to receive proper protection and fair compensation for their work.
Dating back to the mid-'60s, Asher broke onto the music scene with his British pop duo Peter and Gordon, striking gold in 1964 with their first single, the Paul McCartney-written "A World Without Love." Asher's Beatles connections would deepen in the years that followed, and he ran A&R for the band's Apple Records label, singing a young James Taylor and producing several albums that would send his career into the stratosphere. A two-time winner of the Producer Of The Year GRAMMY Award, he went on to work with Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Carol King, Cher, Hans Zimmer and many more.
GRAMMY-winning producer Peter Asher gets candid on why the @RecordingAcad is a key organization that continues to #advocate and protect the rights of all #music creators! #MusicModernizationAct pic.twitter.com/aH6xhDn4D0
— GRAMMY Advocacy (@GRAMMYAdvocacy) August 8, 2018
Asher's music industry perspective is as unique as his experience. In an ever-changing landscape of the music industry, he has been instrumental in fighting for artists left out in the cold due to "pre-1972" loophole in the music licensing system. Many legacy acts can now receive compensation for their work when it's played on digital services under the game-changing Music Modernization Act, which was ardently supported by Asher.
More recently, he has also advocated for The Copyright Alternative Small Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act (S. 1273), which recently passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 410-6. The bill empowers songwriters of all levels by establishing a small claims court for copyright infringement cases, removing the cost prohibitive barriers for songwriters who couldn't afford costly federal court action to protect their work.
Producer Peter Asher and @blues_traveler's frontman John Popper address current music policy issues: https://t.co/pUEbDVc7GV pic.twitter.com/jRTbWuJUqf
— GRAMMY Advocacy (@GRAMMYAdvocacy) April 12, 2017
Earlier this month, Asher hosted a conversation with Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) during District Advocate day at the GRAMMY Museum, discussing key issues to music creators. No stranger to supporting the Recording Academy's Advocacy initiatives, he has also participated and performed at other District Advocate events as well even hosted GRAMMYs on the Hill in 2018. Earlier this year GRAMMY Week, Asher used the opportunity of the spotlight being on Music's Biggest Night to speak with lawmakers about how the policy they pass affects the music community.
Asher currently serves as the Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter Governor and Advocacy Representative, where he continues to speak up on behalf of music makers of all kinds.
Asher's latest production is a new kind of Beatles book, The Beatles From A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour, wherein he takes an alphabetical approach to recalling songs, instruments and other assorted terms and memories letter by letter. The idea for a book grew out of Asher telling these stories on his weekly Sirius XM radio show, Peter Asher: From Me To You. With so many fascinating memories to share, a book seemed inevitable. But the format had to be fresh.
Peter Asher has written a book about his friends: 'The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour'. The hardcover book arrives Oct. 29 in the U.S & Dec. 1 in the U.K. #Music #TheBeatles pic.twitter.com/a0VjUmeJFh
— Music Beat (@MusicBeat5) October 10, 2019
"It seems like everyone Beatles-related has written a book… I was (talking) more about music and songs, along with some stories," Asher told Billboard. His account of all things Fab Four offers a completely different experience from a conventional autobiography, and in many ways reflects Asher's bottomless knowledge and boundless creativity.
The Beatles From A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour was released Oct. 29 and is available here. To add your voice to Asher's in support of the CASE Act, contact your Senators and urge them to support all creators by co-sponsoring the act.
District Advocate Day 2019: Music Creators Raise Their Voices Across The U.S.