News Archive
BMI is excited to present Tribeca Talks: The Art and Business of Scoring for Film, TV & Visual Media, a panel that will be included as part of the Tribeca Festival’s Music Lounge, on Saturday, June 11 at 5:30PM at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn. The panel will be moderated…
BMI Remembers Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry Member Charlie Daniels
BMI is saddened by the passing of Country, Southern Rock and Bluegrass legend Charlie Daniels, who died today of a stroke at the age of 83. A Dove and CMA Award-winning artist, musician, and songwriter, best known for his fiery fiddle on his #1 hit “The Devil Went Down to…
How to Use the “List Technique” in Your Song
What do the songs in the list below have in common? “The Twelve Days of Christmas” (traditional) “Achy Breaky Heart” (recorded by Billy Ray Cyrus, written by Don Von Tress) Sting’s “If I Ever Lose My Faith” (written by Sting) Carrie Underwood’s “
How to Write Non-Visual Lyrics That Engage Listeners
“Show—Don’t Tell” is one of the basic tenets taught in almost every songwriting class. Writing cinematic lyrics—lyrics that incorporate visual imagery that listeners can envision like a movie in their minds—is often thought of as one of the most effective ways to connect with audiences. Cinematic lyrics do not spell…
BMI Congratulates its 2018 GRAMMY Winners
The 60th GRAMMY Awards returned to New York City, last night, for the first time since 2003, for a special anniversary celebration on the hallowed stage of Madison Square Garden. BMI songwriters from across the genre spectrum were on hand to claim their well-earned accolades for some of the year’s…
BMI Congratulates its 2018 GRAMMY Nominees
BMI is very proud to congratulate our many talented affiliates on their prestigious GRAMMY nominations, which were announced this morning by the Recording Academy. The 60th GRAMMY Awards, to be held in Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, January 28, 2018, will salute a wide array of…
BMI Mourns the Loss of Legendary Troubadour Leonard Cohen
BMI is saddened by the passing of one of the world’s most eminent songwriters, Leonard Cohen. For nearly five decades, Cohen’s music cut through the lines of traditional genres and was recorded more than 2,000 times by such diverse and renowned artists as Judy Collins, who recorded the timeless “Suzanne,”…
Write On: Amanda Shires
Amanda Shires doesn’t shy away from the dark. Instead, she fearlessly and beautifully explores it in her songwriting, finding comfort in the universal emotions we all feel, and the universal discoveries we make when we come out of the darkness and into the light. “I like exploring the darker things,”…
The Top 5 Lyric Pitfalls
I’m in my eighteenth year of teaching BMI’s Nashville Songwriters’ Workshop. In those classes I’ve listened to 40 to 50 songs at least 10 times a year. I did some math: I’ve reviewed more than 8,000 songs—and that does not include the songs I critiqued in the master classes,…
Indie Spotlight: Garrett Pierce
Garrett Pierce pens songs that peek into that same dark, yet optimistic place that Henry Miller and Leonard Cohen tapped into. His voice seems to soar alongside acoustic ballads or dirgey rock songs with the emotional confidence of someone who has found his path after years of yearning. Born and…