The Beat: Rock The Vote Still Registers

It's hard to believe, but in a few short years, Rock the Vote will be old enough to vote.

The nonprofit organization turns 15 this year. To celebrate, it will host the Rock the Vote Awards June 8 in Washington, D.C. Held at the National Building Museum, it will honor Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., the Black Eyed Peas, former president Bill Clinton and street team leader Sarah Saheb.

RTV was founded by industry veteran Jeff Ayeroff initially as an anti-censorship response to the Parents Music Resource Center, but it quickly evolved into a youth advocacy and educational forum as well as a voter registration organizer.

"It was an AARP for kids based on the thought that if kids talked to politicians, they would have to talk back," says Ayeroff, who remains on the board.

And so it remains. Attorney/RTV chairman Fred Goldring says, "We want to ensure that whenever important issues come up, young people have a voice and politicians have to seriously consider them in their plans."

Clinton was the first national candidate to embrace RTV and acknowledge the power the then-nascent organization could have.

RTV does not have exact figures on how many millions of people it has registered to vote in the past 15 years (the number was 1.4 million for 2004 alone). But it was instrumental in getting the "Motor Voter" bill passed in 1993, which facilitated registration at local government agencies, most prominently state motor vehicle offices.

Among the pressing issues for RTV are increasing the turnout among young voters and Social Security.

While the original mission remains the same for RTV, much has changed. In the early days, record labels provided much of the financial support. Now the organization relies more on non-music brands, such as shoe or beverage companies.

But music remains a core of RTV, with many acts continuing their support.

In other RTV news, TV executive Larry Lyttle joins the organization this month as CEO. He will work directly with Goldring and RTV president Jehmu Greene.

On a side note, Ayeroff and partner John Rubin have started consulting company Artists First. Ayeroff, who was most recently vice chairman of Warner Bros. Records, says the Los Angeles-based company's clients include major labels, home video companies and artists. ••••