Nicole George: ASCAP Vice President of Rhythm & Soul Membership

 Nicole George is at the height of her powers as one of the highest ranking females in the music industry. The Vice resident of membership for Rhythm & Soul membership at ASCAP has been at best “relentless” in building the talent roster at the performing rights organization and overseeing daily operational management of ASCAP’s Rhythm and Soul Membership department on a worldwide basis.

Nicole has signed artists like Boi-1da, 40 and T.I. She’s made ASCAP’s Rhythm & Soul Music Awards a must-attend annual event and has developed new programs for networking and song exposure like “Breaking Bread” in New York and “Check It Out” in Atlanta. The ASCAP “Women Behind the Music” series, which shines a well-earned spotlight on songwriters, managers, publishers and executives, is the brainchild of Nicole, a former practicing attorney. ASCAP’s Rhythm and Soul Membership department is responsible for outreach to some of the Society’s most prominent and successful members through executives in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York. Outreach efforts include the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, music showcases, educational panels, and attendance at many music conferences and industry events. Under Nicole’s leadership, the department’s success has resulted in a dominant market share in this genre.

On Billboard’s 2010 year-end recaps, ASCAP songwriter members wrote, or co-wrote, nine of the the top 10 songs on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs & Airplay, Hot Rap Songs and Hot Adult R&B charts. Nicole is a founding member of Black Women in Entertainment Law and is a mentor for Harlem’s Millennium Dance Co. “Although I have graduated from law school, practiced law at a firm and in-house at a record label and now run a department servicing thousands of members,” she says, “it’s being a mom that has given me the best lesson in time management and prioritization.”