May 5, 2003

Two In A Row For Songwriter Of The Year Estéfano

Press Release

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, May 5, 2003 – Performing rights organization BMI presented its 10th Annual Latin Awards tonight with top honors going to songwriter/producer Estéfano, Shakira and Tim Mitchell’s hit song “Suerte,” and publisher peermusic. The black-tie ceremony, hosted by BMI President and CEO Frances W. Preston and Assistant Vice President of Latin Music Diane J. Almodovar, honored the top writers and publishers of the most performed Latin songs on U.S. radio and television at a 400-plus person gala dinner at the Eden Roc Resort in Miami Beach, Florida. The gala event coincided with the Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards 2003, which runs until May 8, also at the Eden Roc Resort.

Writer/producer Estéfano was named BMI Latin Songwriter of the Year for the third time with three songs on the most performed list, including “Necesidad” and “Usted Se Me Llevó La Vida,” both recorded by Alexandre Pires, and “Tú Y Yo” recorded by Thalía. Estéfano, who earned the prestigious title at last year’s BMI Latin Awards, also shared the Songwriter of the Year crown with Marco Antonio Pérez, Mario Quintero, Kike Santander and Shakira at the 2000 awards ceremony.

A hit in both Spanish and English, Shakira’s “Suerte” (“Whenever, Wherever”), co-written with Tim Mitchell and published by Aniwi Music, LLC and Foreign Imported Productions and Publishing, Inc., earned Song of the Year accolades as the most performed song in the BMI Latin catalog. The #1 hit is from the Latin diva’s multi-platinum Spanish and English-language album, Laundry Service.

Peermusic was named Publisher of the Year with a record 12 songs on the most performed list, including Luis Miguel’s “Amor, Amor, Amor,” “Derecho A La Vida” by Conjunto Primavera, and “Nada” by Juanes. This is the fourth time the powerhouse music publisher has earned the top honor at the BMI Latin Awards.

Other multiple award-winning songwriters included Mario Quintero and Shakira, with two songs each on the most performed list. Publishers earning two or more Citations of Achievement were Aniwi Music, LLC, Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc., EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc., Fernando Osorio Songs, Foreign Imported Productions and Publishing, Inc., Más Flamingo Music, Mexican Music Copyright, Inc., SER-CA Publishing, Inc., Sony/ATV Latin Music Publishing LLC, Tigres del Norte Ediciones Musicales, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. and World Deep Music Publishing Corporation

BMI is a U.S. performing rights organization that represents more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music. Founded in 1940 as a non-profit-making corporation, BMI opened the door to performing rights representation for songwriters and composers of all types of music including Spanish-language music. Through its musical performance and reciprocal agreements with sister organizations around the world, BMI grants businesses and media access to its repertoire of more than 4.5 million songs and compositions.

High-resolution photos of the 2003 BMI Latin Awards are available for downloading on the BMI Media Relations press web site at press.bmi.com. Please see contacts below for a Spanish version of this release. For a complete list of award winning songs, please visit bmi.com.

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Contacts:

Pat Baird
BMI New York
212-830-2528
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Betty Del Rio
Top One Entertainment
305- 861-3545
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 

BMI Board member Amador Bustos, BMI President and CEO Frances Preston, and Estefano

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BMI's Frances Preston and Estefano.

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Estefano

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Estefano

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BMI Latin Award Winners. Estefano, Songwriter of the Year; Tim Mitchell, Co-Writer with Shakira of the BMI Latin Song of the Year, Suete.

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BMI Latin Award Winners. BMI executives congratulate Publisher of the Year peermusic and Songwriter of the Year, Estefano. From left, BMI Executive Vice President Del Byrant, peermusic President Kathy Spamberger, and Chairman and CEO Ralph Peer II, Estefano, BMI President and CEO Frances Preston, and BMI Latin Music Assisant Vice President Diane Almodovar.

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BMI Latin Publisher of the Year. BMI's Del Bryant, peermusic's Kathy Spanberger and Ralph Peer II, BMI's Frances Preston and Diane Almodovar.

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Jorge Villamizar, award songwriter and member of the band "Bacilos"

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BMI Latin Song of the Year- "Suerte" flying over South Beach, Miami.

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BMI Latin Music Assisant Vice President Diane Almodovar and Jorge Villamizar

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