The Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates and honors great pop songwriters while developing new writing talent through workshops, showcases, scholarships and digital initiatives. Taylor Swift, Phil Collins, Earth Wind and Fire and Leonard Cohen were among this years award recipients at the 2010 Induction Ceremony on June 17th. In addition to an amazing evening of live performances, attendees look forward to taking home a goody bag with the The Songwriters Hall of Fame New Writers Showcase CD. Since its inception in 2003, Habitat Composer/Producer/Engineer Harold Stephan has been mastering the New Writers Showcase CD and was featured as a songwriter in 2006 with his band Amelia’s Dream for their song “Save Me“. Check out this years best new songwriters. Highlights of this years awards dinner included a breathtaking performance of Cohen’s “Hallelujah” by k.d. lang and a knockout, high energy closing number by E-W-F.

What do Katy Perry, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas, American Idol’s Big Mike & The IRS Have In Common?

Habitat Music.

We believe strength in today’s music industry requires multiple outlets for the creator. Here are some highlights of the past year: Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” Ming remix for Victoria’s Secret; Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” Ming remix with Beyonce for Interscope; The Black Eyed Peas’ “Rock That Body” Ming remix for Interscope; Big Mike’s first full length album & 3 years of artist development preparing him for his big moment on American Idol; Commercial spots for IRS’ “E-File” & Bulova’s newest watch line, among others. Thanks for a great year.


'Big Mike' Lynche

Longtime Habitat Music and Hood Famous Music collaborator Michael Lynche made it to Hollywood on American Idol last night. Habitat composer/producer Aaron Albano (a.k.a. Ming) helped “Big Mike” craft his unique blend of high-energy music called the “Dirty Blues”–where gritty southern soul meets dirty south hip-hop. The sound can best be described as a cross between Gnarls Barkley, Outkast and R. Kelly. We’ll be anxiously watching Idol along with the rest of America as the competition unfolds!

Check out some of his past work with Habitat writer/producer, Ming. Track 4 “Pimp Beat” features a keyboard riff from yours truly.

Harold Stephan will be participating as a panelist at the 29th Annual CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival, taking place October 20-24, 2009.

PANEL DETAILS: Strategically Aligning Your Music World With Partnerships And Alliances

Event Page: View Full Details & Attendees
Venue: NYU, Kimmel Center, 9th Floor, Room 905-907
Address: 60 Washington Square South, New…
Time: 12:30PM to 1:45PM
About: With the lack of record deals, some artists are aligning with organizations other than music companies to expose their work. Are these opportunities really that strategic? This panel will discuss the importance of finding and acting on “third party” opportunities.
Panelist(s): Geoff Renaud, Owner/Founder, RADAR Entertainment
Harold Stephan, Songwriter/Producer/CEO, Habitat Music
Jason Ross, Partner, The Bowery Presents: Media
Eric Sherman, President, Tenth Street Entertainment

This is the second film I have scored for Karen Cantor of Singing Wolf Documentaries. Dealing with end of life choices, I found a perfect song in the Amelia’s Dream catalog called “Before Your Time” to anchor the movie’s main character, Merian. The song was written by Amelia Gewirtz and myself in memory of a close friend.

Last Rights Promo

For more information you can visit the Last Rights web-site