Aimee Mayo’s life story sounds like a movie plot. She endured a volatile childhood growing up in Gadsden, Alabama, changing schools 11 times before fourth grade. Her father shot himself when she was 8 years old; he survived, and after Mayo’s parents divorced, her mother married an abusive man. She… Read more...
Sometimes, playing it safe is the most dangerous thing we can do. This is especially applicable when our goal is to write songs that rise above the competition; songs that become artists’ signature songs; and songs that impact audiences and propel artists to a next level. We need to find… Read more...
On September 15, master storytellers Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan and Julie Dunfey’s new eight-part documentary, Country Music, will debut on PBS. The much-awaited series chronicles the evolution of country music and explores the question most asked about the genre, especially in today’s world, “What is country music?” The Emmy-winning trio… Read more...
At my BMI Nashville Songwriters’ Workshops, I screen and critique songs from each attendee. When I find songs that I believe are competitive with those being written by today’s top hitmakers, I forward them to ten music publishers who have agreed to listen. After the last BMI Workshop, I forwarded… Read more...
When I worked in the A & R Department at a major record label, and later, as production coordinator for albums by hit artists, in many cases, my ears were the first barrier that had to be crossed when a song was submitted for those acts. Almost all the songs… Read more...
BMI is exceptionally proud to congratulate its many affiliates nominated for awards by the Recording Academy at the 61st GRAMMY Awards, scheduled to be held on February 10, 2019 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Nominations for the music industry’s most prestigious accolades were announced on December 7. In… Read more...
BMI’s Jody Williams stopped by BMI songwriter Loretta Lynn’s 85th birthday bash at the Ryman Auditorium on April 15, to present the country star with a Million-Air award in recognition of two million radio spins of her song “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Lynn’s celebratory show lasted two hours and was chockfull… Read more...
After another prolific year of incredible music, BMI songwriters made a strong showing in the nominations for the 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards, slated to be presented Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Earning multiple nods across the prestigious Recording Academy accolade’s 84 separate categories, the… Read more...
Imagine receiving airplay and earning income from a song year after year and having that same song be recorded by multiple artists over a span of decades. That is what can happen with a holiday-themed song. For many songwriters and music publishers, landing a holiday recording that becomes the next… Read more...
2015 was an incredible year for visionary songwriter and pop icon Lady Gaga, who was named Billboard’s 2015 Woman of the Year during its Women in Music event held December 11, at New York City’s Cipriani. In accepting the prestigious accolade, which is given to “a key influential figure who… Read more...
Captured at BMI Country Awards 2004
