News Archive
BMI paid tribute to the best and brightest in Gospel music with its Trailblazers of Gospel Music celebration. The honorees were announced today on BMI.com and across the organization’s digital platforms, celebrating the inspirational and transformative music of BMI’s accomplished Gospel songwriters. To honor these achievements, BMI created
BMI Songwriters Recognized by Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013
Broadcast Music, Inc. songwriter Sam Cooke, who was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, is again being recognized for his work with the 2013 Songwriters Hall of Fame Towering Song Award for “A Change Is Gonna Come.” The 44th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner on Thursday,…
Trailblazer, Defined: Kirk Franklin
There was nothing at all timid about the words Kirk Franklin delivered as an intro to his 1997 gospel and r&b hit “Stomp (Remix).” “For those of you that think that gospel music has gone too far,” he challenged, stamping every syllable with streetwise churchly conviction, “you think we’ve gotten…
Merengue Urbano: Not Your Father’s Merengue
What do you get when you mix the national music of the Dominican Republic with North American hip-hop? How about a new style of Latin popular music which looks poised to explode internationally? Called merengue urbano (or “urban merengue”), it blends fast-paced, aggressive tropical merengue with urban hip-hop, rap and…
Rick Ross to Headline BMI’s 14th Annual Unsigned Urban Showcase
BMI will present its 14th Annual Unsigned Urban Showcase Wednesday, May 18, featuring a combination of the recording industry’s eminent stars and most-promising unsigned talent. Staged at The Buckhead Theatre (3110 Roswell Road, Atlanta, GA), the event begins at 8 p.m.; doors open at 7 p.m. The festivities are open…
E. Miles: Bring On the Pressure
About 10 years ago, writer/producer E. Miles made his first trek to the Big Apple. Hailing from the unincorporated town of Pleasant Grove, North Carolina—a town so small it doesn’t even have its own McDonald’s restaurant—Miles was particularly dazzled by New York’s bright lights and thrusting skyscrapers. “I was 16-17…
Chef Tone, Writing and Winning
With a sprinkle of sexiness and a dash of innuendo, Atlanta-based songwriter Tony “Chef Tone” Scales dishes appetizing love songs and bold club bangers for r&b heavy-hitters like Jamie Foxx, Mario, J. Holiday, Sammie and, most notably, R. Kelly and Trey Songz. “I’m trying to apply pressure to these other…
BMI Congratulates Our Members on More Than 375 Grammy Nominations!
Read BMI’s 2011 Grammy nominees news story from December 2, 2010. Name, Number of Nominations Eminem, 10 Lady Gaga, 6 John Legend, 5 Rihanna, 5 The Roots, 5 B.o.B, 4 Drake (socan), 4 Cee Lo Green, 4 Lady Antebellum,…
Eminem, Lady Gaga & Lady Antebellum Lead List of 2011 BMI Grammy Nominees
Eminem, Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum lead BMI’s triumphant surge in the 2011 Grammy nominations, announced last night in Los Angeles. With 10 nominations, Eminem proves yet again that popularity and critical acclaim are best enjoyed hand in hand. His Recovery will vie for Album of the Year, while “Love…
Trey Songz Proves He’s ‘Ready’
Just five years ago, a cocksure young crooner emerged into the r&b morass, informing the world that he was going to make it. Literally, that’s what he sang: “Gotta Make It.” His was an affirmation that seemed feasible rather than absolute, given the frequently fast flame-out of urban pop singers.…