It would be hard to look at a list of current hit songs without noticing a trend: the growing use of featured artists. A featured artist is one who makes a guest appearance on another artist’s recording to create a collaboration. What’s the difference between a duet and a song… 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...
Most of us who are in the business of creating songs are aware of the importance of writing lyrics that have universal appeal, lyrics that connect with millions of hearts. We have also heard about the importance of writing songs that emanate from our hearts, from personal experience. On the… Read more...
Before addressing what might constitute being “too clever” in lyrics, I’ll begin by defining what I mean by “clever” lyrics. For the purposes of this article I’m referring to songs with lyrics that are witty, tongue-in-cheek, humorous, or amusing. These are in contrast to those that fall into the category… Read more...
BMI invited top pop songwriters from L.A. and country songwriters from Nashville to hunker down at the historic Fontanel Mansion in Nashville from January 18 to 22 and collaborate on new songs. The writers held multiple brainstorming sessions in the storied mansion, with special performance of the new tracks to… Read more...
Broadcast Music, Inc, honored dynamic singer-songwriter P!nk with the BMI President’s Award for her outstanding achievement in songwriting and global impact on pop culture and the entertainment industry at the Company’s 63rd annual Pop Awards, held last night at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The event also… Read more...
When songwriter Denise Rich (who penned the Sister Sledge hit song “Frankie”) approached BMI six years ago with the idea to host a songwriter retreat, pairing writers beginning their careers with writers whose songs have hit the charts, a tradition between BMI and Denise Rich Songs was created. This tradition… Read more...
Great songs are at the heart of every style of music. But the process of writing and demoing those songs—as well as business practices—varies by genre, and is approached differently in various music centers. This article will examine those differences. How the Songs Are Written In… Read more...
The 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards are less than two weeks away and the dozens of BMI affiliates nominated are well positioned for a huge evening. Rapidly ascendant newcomers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis snagged an impressive seven nods, including Album of the Year for The Heist, Song of the Year and… Read more...
Broadcast Music, Inc. takes pride in its role as an early support system for aspiring songwriters, providing unique opportunities for collaborations and new industry connections. Since 2011, BMI’s London office has played an instrumental role in the Bali Songwriting Summit, a ten day creative gathering of some the globe’s most… Read more...
Captured at 2010 Urban Awards
