April 15, 2002

BMI To Honor Rock ‘N Roll Icons At 50th Annual Pop Awards

Press Release

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LOS ANGELES, April 15, 2002 - BMI will celebrate its 50th annual Pop Awards on May 14 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. In honor of the milestone anniversary, rock & roll pioneers Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Little Richard will be presented with BMI Icon Awards in recognition of their many contributions to contemporary music. This is the first time the Icon Awards will be presented. BMI President & CEO Frances W. Preston will hand out these prestigious awards to the three honorees, who will all be in attendance.

The BMI Pop Awards is an invitation only, black-tie event that recognizes the songwriters and publishers of the most performed songs of the past year. Preston along with Barbara Cane, Vice President & General Manager, Writer/Publisher Relations, Los Angeles, will present BMI Citations of Achievement during the awards ceremony and dinner.

Past BMI Pop Award winners include Don Henley, Babyface, Counting Crows, Macy Gray, Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray, CAKE, Foo Fighters, Faith Hill, The Corrs, matchbox twenty, Sting, R.E.M., R. Kelly, Bush, Creed, 3 Doors Down, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Santana many others. Last year’s top winners included Cory Rooney (BMI Songwriter of the Year), “Breathe” (BMI Song of the Year) and EMI Music Publishing (BMI Publisher of the Year).