News Archive
BMI kicked off its 2023 Bluebird Cafe showcase series Tuesday night, with a “New Faces of Nashville” themed set of performances. The legendary stage hosted Nashville newcomers Tony Evans Jr., Harper Grae, and Lindsey Hinkle. Lindsey Hinkle started out the evening performing in her Bluebird Cafe debut. The self-taught musician…
Top Songwriting Tips For 2023
As we begin a new year, it’s a good time to revisit some of the advice shared in the year that has passed. I hope these tips will help you achieve your songwriting goals! Excerpt from “How to Stretch Yourself Melodically” A common pitfall for non-performing songwriters is…
How to Write to a Music Track: The Art of Toplining
For genres like pop, hip-hop, R&B, and EDM/dance music, in most instances, the backing track is created before the words and vocal melody. The track consists of essentially all the music that will accompany the vocal and typically includes drums and percussion, keyboards, and bass. Live guitars or computer generated…
Duets and Featured Artists: The Hot Trend in Recordings
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…
GRAMMY-Nominated BMI Songwriter Entertains California Innkeepers
The California Association of Boutique & Breakfast Inns held their annual INNspire Conference & Marketplace in person this year at the Bahia Resort Hotel in San Diego and BMI helped make it an event to remember. Award-winning BMI songwriter James Slater was the featured entertainment at their closing beach party…
“Bring Me Something New”—What Song Publishers Really Mean
I recently forwarded three songs to a list of publishers who have agreed to listen to songs that I screen. One of the publishers responded, “This song is very well written and commercial. But I’ve already got this kind of stuff by the dozens. Seems that most writers are all…
Nashville Hitmaker Helps BMI Show Support for Oregon Hospitality Industry
BMI partnered with the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association to provide the musical entertainment at the hospitality association’s “Industry Night Out,” held recently at the Punch Bowl Social in Portland. The reception, which was held in conjunction with the Northwest Food Show, provided an opportunity for Oregon restauranteurs who were…
Truth Through Song: A Conversation with Singer/Songwriter JP Saxe
JP Saxe is a busy man and a prolific singer/songwriter. Since releasing his first single, “Changed,” in 2017, he has distinguished himself with a succession of lilting pop songs that delve into matters of the heart, at times with almost disarming intimacy. Having already co-written alongside BMI songwriters like Carmen…
BMI Congratulates its 2021 ACM Award Winners
The votes are in and BMI’s talented songwriters once again took the majority of wins at last night’s Academy of Country Music Awards, which was streamed from three iconic Nashville venues, the Grand Ole Opry House, Ryman Auditorium and Bluebird Café. Although the event adhered to social distancing practices with…
BMI Congratulates its 2021 ACM Nominees
BMI songwriters are once again poised for major wins at this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards, which will air from the Grand Ole Opry, Bluebird Cafe and Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on April 18. Leading the pack for nods is Maren Morris with six and Miranda Lambert with five,…
Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban: Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban Interviewed at the 2014 BMI Country Awards
Captured at 2014 BMI Country Awards