BMI Congratulates Mike O’Neill on Receiving the Founders Award at 2025 La Musa Awards

BMI is thrilled to congratulate President & CEO Mike O’Neill for receiving the Founders Award from the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame, last night, at the 12th Annual La Musa Awards at the Flamingo Theater in Miami. This prestigious honor recognizes O’Neill’s efforts across three decades at BMI to support songwriters and composers to ensure they can continue creating the world’s best music. The award was made even more special as it was presented by the legendary BMI Icon Gloria Estefan.

During her presentation, Estefan described O’Neill as “a champion for every dreamer who’s ever written a song in their bedroom, every musician who’s poured their soul into a melody.” She continued that O’Neill “leads with empathy, with joy, and with a deep respect for the art that connects us all.”

Upon accepting his award, O’Neill called the recognition a great honor and expressed his gratitude to the Latin music community. “This is especially meaningful to me because of all the work BMI does to preserve and protect the professions of songwriting and composing,” said O’Neill. “We are here for you, and we’ll never stop fighting for you.”

Founded by Desmond Child and Rudy Perez, the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame is dedicated to educating, preserving, honoring and celebrating the legacy of Latin songwriters from all over the world, while developing and inspiring new generations of music creators.

In addition to Mike O’Neill’s honor, the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame also recognized BMI composer Charles Fox with the Desi Arnaz Pioneer Award and posthumously inducted the late Argentine BMI pianist, composer, and conductor Lalo Schifrin.

Congratulations to all!