The Icon designation is given to BMI songwriters and artists who have had "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, whose signature three-part harmony has endured for more than three decades, joins an elite list of previous BMI Icons that includes Paul Simon, James Brown, Brian Wilson, Isaac Hayes, Dolly Parton and Carlos Santana.

The musical partnership of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash has produced some of the most timeless songs ever written, including "Marrakesh Express," "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," "Helplessly Hoping," "Guinnevere," "Teach Your Children," "Wooden Ships," "Dark Star" and "Just a Song Before I Go." The only American band of the original Woodstock era to have a societal impact rivaling that of the Beatles, Crosby, Stills & Nash has been called "the voice of an entire generation."

Hosted by BMI President/CEO Del Bryant and Los Angeles VP/GM Barbara Cane, the 54th annual BMI Pop Awards will recognize the writers and publishers of the most performed songs on U.S. radio and television from the past year. A Pop Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Publisher of the Year will be announced during the evening, as will the winner of the BMI Foundation's John Lennon Scholarship.

Pop Award winners from previous years include 3 Doors Down, Maroon 5, R. Kelly, Nickelback, Shania Twain, Pharrell Williams, Michelle Branch, Lauren Christy and Scott Spock of The Matrix, Lil Jon, the Foo Fighters, Evanescence, Linkin Park, Vanessa Carlton and Sheryl Crow, among others.

The Icon designation is given to a creator who has been "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." Simon, a multiple Grammy winner and a double inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist), joins a distinguished list of previous BMI Icons, including James Brown, Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson, Van Morrison, Little Richard, Dolly Parton and Carlos Santana, who will be honored as an Icon at the BMI Latin Awards on April 21 in Las Vegas.

The BMI Pop Awards recognize the songwriters and publishers of the most performed songs on U.S. radio and television from the company's repertoire of approximately 4.5 million musical works from around the world. A Pop Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Publisher of the Year will be announced during the evening, as will the winner of the BMI Foundation's John Lennon Scholarship.

Pop Award winners from previous years include 3 Doors Down, Lauren Christy and Scott Spock of the Matrix, Evanescence, Pharrell Williams, Michelle Branch, the Foo Fighters, Gregg Alexander, R. Kelly, Dallas Austin, Linkin Park, Vanessa Carlton and Sheryl Crow.

Songwriter101.com is a website and user community focused on the business side of songwriting that is specifically geared toward the young songwriter looking to launch a professional career. Songwriter101.com offers a wealth of information, education, and the collective knowledge and experience of some of the music industry's top experts who serve as members of the faculty. The site also features in depth articles about the business side of composing music, video interviews with artists and songwriters from every genre of music, answers to the most frequently asked questions about the business, a guide to the best books about songwriting, links to other helpful industry websites, and the latest music news from around the web. Songwriter101.com is sponsored by Performing Songwriter magazine, performing right organization BMI, Live365.com, Gibson Guitars and Baldwin Pianos.

Shown before the panel are BMI's Phil Graham, Senior Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations; BMI songwriters Randy Sharp, Sean Garrett, Lauren Christy and Chad Hugo; journalist/moderator Dan Kimpel; and BMI's Barbara Cane, Vice President and General Manager, Writer/Publisher Relations, Los Angeles. Photo by Lester Cohen

SOCAN CEO Andr� LeBel presents BMI President Emeritus Frances Preston with the first SOCAN Outstanding International Partner Award

BMI composers who received SOCAN Awards included Lauren Christy and Scott Spock of The Matrix for "I'm With You" (Avril Lavigne), James Grandy for "Free" (Brad Johner) and Brett Beavers for "What Was I Thinkin'" (Dierks Bentley). BMI rockers Nickelback received the SOCAN International Achievement Award for bringing international recognition to Canada through their music.

BMI President Emeritus Frances Preston was honored with the first SOCAN Outstanding International Partner Award, given to the head of a foreign-based Performing Rights Organization in recognition of extraordinary leadership and contributions to SOCAN's membership.

SOCAN, the Canadian copyright collective for the public performance of musical works, administers the performing rights of its members (composers, lyricists, songwriters and their publishers) and those of affiliated international organizations like BMI by licensing the use of their music in Canada.

"The Game of Love" earned the BMI Pop Song of the Year Crystal for songwriter Gregg Alexander and his publishing company Keepin' It Real How 'Bout You Music Publishing; this distinction is given to the song tallying the most feature broadcast performances during the eligibility period. Recorded by Santana featuring Michelle Branch, "The Game of Love" was a #1 single from Santana's Arista album Shaman and has already been certified as a BMI Million-Air (one million broadcast performances). Multi-instrumentalist and producer Alexander won a Pop Award in 1999 for "You Get What You Give," a hit for his former group, the New Radicals. Alexander co-wrote "The Game of Love" with Rick Nowels (share not licensed by BMI).

Brian Wilson	Gregg Alexander	The Matrix

Lauren Christy and Scott Spock contributed three to the Most Performed List of 50 to share the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year crown. The songs earning Christy and Spock the title were "Complicated" and "I'm With You," both #1 singles for Avril Lavigne, and "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)," recorded by Jason Mraz. Christy and Spock, along with Graham Edwards (PRS), are also known professionally as songwriting/production team The Matrix. Other artists for whom they have written songs are Christina Aguilera, David Bowie, Ricky Martin, Ronan Keating, Liz Phair and Hootie & the Blowfish.

With 11 songs represented, Warner/Chappell Music Group (through its companies Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. and Unichappell Music, Inc.) claimed the BMI Pop Publisher of the Year prize. Les Bider, Chairman & CEO of Warner/Chappell Music Group, accepted the crystal obelisk. The Publisher of the Year accolade is given to the publishing concern with the highest percentage of copyright ownership in award songs. Warner/Chappell's top performing tunes were "Are You Happy Now?," "Crazy In Love," "Complicated," "Dilemma," "I'm With You," "In A Little While," "Mesmerize," "Miss You," "Picture," "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" and "Soak Up The Sun."

Brian Wilson was saluted as a BMI Icon for his "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." One of the most revered pop music creators of the last 50 years, Wilson co-founded the Beach Boys and co-wrote such seminal rock and pop songs as "Good Vibrations," "I Get Around," "God Only Knows," "California Girls," "Help Me, Rhonda" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice," among many others. Collectively with the Beach Boys and individually, he helped to create the sound that defined a generation and painted the picture of the West Coast "surf" sound. His genius is embedded throughout the group's history, but it particularly resonates on their legendary 1966 release, Pet Sounds.

After an Icon video tribute, Fountains of Wayne performed "Be True To Your School," followed by Wilson Phillips - featuring Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy - singing "In My Room." Wilson and his band took the stage for several songs, closing with "Good Vibrations."

Wilson enters the elite company of previously praised BMI Icons including Isaac Hayes, Bill Anderson, James Brown, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Dolly Parton, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Bo Diddley . He is also the first person to be honored by BMI as both an Icon and with the President's Award (in 1995).

Of the 80 songwriters cited, nine were double winners: Sheryl Crow, R. Kelly, Jennifer Lopez, Shania Twain, N.E.R.D.'s Pharrell Williams, Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel and Chris Shiflett, and matchbox twenty's Rob Thomas.

Other writer/artists earning awards were Audioslave, Daniel Bedingfield (PRS), Big Tymers, Michelle Branch, Cam'Ron, Vanessa Carlton, Creed, Eminem, Evanescence, Ja Rule, Kid Rock, Linkin Park, Queens of the Stone Age, Red Hot Chili Peppers, 3 Doors Down, Uncle Kracker, and Unwritten Law.

Publishers garnering three or more awards were EMI Music Publishing (EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc./EMI-Unart Catalog, Inc./EMI-Virgin Songs, Inc.); Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc./Zomba Songs Inc.; Universal Music Publishing Group; Dwight Frye Music, Inc.; Mr. Spock Music/Scott Spock Songs; Rainbow Fish Publishing (Christy's company) and Sony/ATV Songs LLC.

"When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down enjoyed Most Performed Song on College Radio kudos for songwriters Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson and Matt Roberts of the group. Included on 3 Doors Down's Republic/Universal CD Away From the Sun, "When I'm Gone" is published by Escatawpa Songs and Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.

Another special presentation was the announcement of Andrew Horowitz as the 1st Place winner of the 2004 John Lennon Scholarship Awards. A student at the University of Michigan, Horowitz earned a $10,000 scholarship for his song, "Goodday." Established in 1997 by Yoko Ono in conjunction with the BMI Foundation, the John Lennon Scholarship Awards recognize the talent of young songwriters between the ages of 15 and 24. More than $125,000 has been awarded over the last seven years through generous donations from Ono and Gibson Musical Instruments. The BMI Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to encouraging the creation, performance and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants.

Five of the 2004 top Pop songs are repeat achievers: "Heaven," first honored in 1985 for writer/artist Bryan Adams; "Landslide," a 1998 Pop Award winner for Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks and the 2003 BMI Country Song of the Year via its recording by the Dixie Chicks; plus last year's winners "Complicated," "One Last Breath" and "Soak Up The Sun."

BMI's Citation of Achievement performance certificates are given annually in recognition of popularity in the field of popular music, as measured by feature broadcast performances on American radio and television. This year's Pop Awards eligibility period ran October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003.

First things first: The hot songwriting/production trio known as The Matrix has nothing to do with Keanu Reeves, or running up walls in slow motion. "It was hard to constantly describe the three of us," Matrix member Lauren Christy told one interviewer about the outfit's early days. "So we came up with the name 'The Matrix.' The matrix is a name for the womb, or the rock, which everything comes from."

Christy, who recorded a few albums as a pop act on the Mercury label in the '90s, and her husband, Graham Edwards, first joined forces with programmer/producer Scott Spock in 1999 under the auspices of manager Sandy Roberton. Having written a song for Australian band Jackson Mendoza, the threesome then penned "This Year" for Christina Aguilera's 2000 release My Kind of Christmas; shortly after that came a call from Avril Lavigne's management.

That led to songwriting and production on Lavigne's "Complicated," "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm with You" singles. In the months since, The Matrix has worked with everyone from Ricky Martin to Robbie Williams to Britney Spears: such hits as Liz Phair's "Why Can't I," Jason Mraz's "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" and Lillix's "It's About Time" all bear the polished, beat-friendly Matrix approach.

In July came word that the trio had signed a recording deal with Columbia Records, with its first release due next spring. Throughout, the team has remained committed to crafting songs in a straightforward fashion.

"A song is a work of art," Spock told one interviewer. "You just don't say, 'I sketched this with a pencil and I'll color it in later,' [it's] 'here's my piece of art.' You sit down and all the pieces start evolving together and that's kind of how we work. When we get done, it's usually a finished master.

"We all do everything: creating melodies, lyrics, and tracks," Spock continued. "When we write, we like to sit down with a guitar and piano, rather than starting with a track. Graham plays guitar and bass, Lauren plays piano, and I play piano and trumpet. Also we all sing, often on both our demos and the masters."

Whether The Matrix will become a household name like The Neptunes remains to be seen; The group's members have said they have little interest in being as omnipresent as Pharrell Williams's hugely successful outfit, but the Columbia deal would seem to hint at a possible change in that attitude. For now, however, The Matrix plans to simply continue plying its trade.

"It just goes to show, that if you keep working hard, it can turn around with one hit song," Edwards said. "You have to keep the faith, and keep writing. It all turns around."

BEST SONG MUSICALLY & LYRICALLY
"The Other Side"
Written and performed by David Gray (PRS)

THE IVORS DANCE AWARD
"Lazy"
Co-written by David Byrne

PRS MOST PERFORMED WORK
"Just A Little"
Written by Michelle Escoffery (PRS), John Hammond Hagan (PRS) and George Hammond Hagan (PRS)

INTERNATIONAL HIT OF THE YEAR
"Complicated"
Written by Lauren Christy and David Alspach

BEST SELLING UK SINGLE
"Just A Little"
Written by Michelle Escoffery (PRS), John Hammond Hagan (PRS) and George Hammond Hagan (PRS)

PRS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH MUSIC
Bryan Ferry (PRS)

THE SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD
Brian Wilson

Sheryl Crow

Eminem

Norah Jones

Other BMI writers who received multiple nominations included four each for country darlings the Dixie Chicks, producer Arif Mardin and Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger (including Record of the Year for the Nickelback smash "How You Remind Me"). Newcomer Vanessa Carlton picked up three. Fellow BMI pop divas Pink, Britney Spears and Michelle Branch garnered two nominations each, as did blues legend B.B. King, film composer Thomas Newman and gospel giant Fred Hammond.

BMI's 2003 Grammy nominees:

FIVE NOMINATIONS

Sheryl Crow
Eminem
Norah Jones

FOUR NOMINATIONS

Dixie Chicks
Chad Kroeger (SOCAN)

THREE NOMINATIONS

Vanessa Carlton
Floetry (Marsha Ambrosius, Natalie Stewart)
Arif Mardin
Pat Metheny

TWO NOMINATIONS

Michelle Branch
Michael Brecker
The Chieftains
Madukwu Chinwah
Natalie Cole
Dirty Vegas (PRS)
Foo Fighters
Carlos Franzetti
Kenny G
Pat Green
Herbie Hancock
Nellee Hooper (PRS)
B.B. King
Diana Krall (SOCAN)
Rashid Lonnie Lynn
Nappy Roots
Willie Nelson
Thomas Newman
Nickel Creek
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Dolly Parton
Pink
Britney Spears
Ralph Stanley
3 Doors Down (Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson, Matt Roberts)
Doc Watson
John Williams

SINGLE NOMINEES

Aaliyah
Will Ackerman
John Adams
Christina Aguilera
Darol Anger
Audio Adrenaline
Bacilos
David Balakrishnan
Charli Baltimore
Banda El Recodo De Cruz Lizárraga
Jeff Bass
Daniel Bedingfield (PRS)
Big Tymers
Eddie Blazonczyk
The Blind Boys of Alabama
Kevin Bond
Ryan Bowser
David Bowie (PRS)
Brandy
Norman Brown
Solomon Burke
Burning Sky
R.L. Burnside
Gary Burton
Gary Calamar
Michel Camilo
Cam’Ron
The Canton Spirituals
Capleton (PRS)
Caribbean Jazz Project
Cee-Lo
Lauren Christy
The Clinch Mountain Boys
Andy Colver (PRS)
Commissioned
Common
Creed
Bill Cunliffe
The Charlie Daniels Band
Diamond Rio
Michael Doucet
Dave Douglas
Don Edwards
Danny Elfman
Enya (PRS)
Faith Evans
Tommy Flanagan
The Flaming Lips
Béla Fleck
Michael J. Fox
Allison Brewster Franzetti
The Funk Brothers
Peter Gabriel (PRS)
David Lee Garza y Los Musicales
Osvaldo Golijov
Gov’t Mule
Al Green
Grits
Dave Grusin
Deitrick Haddon
Fred Hammond
Roy Hargrove
Jesse Harris
Don Henley
Faith Hill
Dave Holland Big Band
David Holt
Intocable
Etta James
Jars of Clay
JaRule
Jay-Z
Maxi Jazz (PRS)
Little Joe & La Familia
Elton John (PRS)
The Jordanaires
Juanes
John P. Kee
Salif Keita (PRS)
R. Kelly
Kinky
Kitaro
Jennifer Knapp
Knoc-Turn’Al
Korn
Dave Koz
Jeff Koz
Alison Krauss
Femi Kuti (SACEM)
kd lang
Jim Lauderdale
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Don Letts (PRS)
Lonestar
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
The Light Crust Doughboys
Limi-T 21
Israel “Cachao” López
Taj Mahal
Lloyd Maines
Maraca
Martina McBride
Delbert McClinton
Freddie McGregor (PRS)
Lee Thomas Miller
Mingus Big Band
Moby
Charlie Musselwhite
Meshell Ndegeocello
The Neptunes
Newsong
Nickelback (SOCAN)
*NSYNC
The Oak Ridge Boys
Makoto Ozone (JASRAC)
Lee “Scratch” Perry
Pharrell
Queens of the Stone Age
Busta Rhymes
Riders In the Sky
Peter Rowan
Nancy Rumbel
Nicky Ryan (PRS)
Roma Ryan (PRS)
Mingo Saldivar y Sus Tremendos Cuatro Espadas
Santana
John Santos and the Machete Ensemble
Al Schmitt
The John Scofield Band
Earl Scruggs
Wayne Shorter
Jon Sidel
Siggno
Allan Slutsky
Arthur Smith (PRS)
The Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Scott Spock
Ralph Stanley II
Sting (PRS)
Angie Stone
Omar Sosa
Luciana Souza
Jimmy Sturr
Take Six
Susan Tedeschi
John Tesh
The Temptations
Eric Tingstad
Tobymac
Trick Pony
Kathy Troccoli
Los Tucanes De Tijuana
McCoy Tyner
Jai Uttal
Bebo Valdés
Carlos “Patato” Valdés
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
Scott Wenzel
Kenny Werner
Lucinda Williams
Robin Williams
Dean Wilson (PRS)
BeBe Winans
The Roland White Band
Pete Woodruff
Yellowjackets
Joe Zawinul