Nashville, Tennessee (September 15, 2009) – The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) will present its annual Songwriter Achievement Awards  Sunday, October 18 as part of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) evening. NSAI will present the 2009 Songwriter of the Year, Songwriter/Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. In addition, NSAI will present the 10 Songs I Wish I’d Written. These honors are chosen by ballots of NSAI’s professional songwriter members and will be revealed that night.

NSAI will also proudly present the Songwriter/Artist of the Decade and Songwriter of the Decade. Toby Keith is the Songwriter/Artist of the Decade (2000-2009) for his hits ranging from “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)” and “Who’s Your Daddy?” to “As Good As I Once Was” and “God Love Her.” He also won two consecutive ACM Entertainer of the Year awards.

Craig Wiseman is the Songwriter of the Decade (2000-2009) for songs such as “The Good Stuff” by Kenny Chesney (2003 ACM Song of the Year), “Believe” by Brooks & Dunn (2006 CMA Song of the Year), “Summertime” by Kenny Chesney and “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw.

“These awards are very special honors, not only recognizing continuous hits over the past ten years, but because they are chosen by fellow songwriters,” said NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison.  Craig and Toby have truly earned the respect of their fellow creators and deserve this special recognition.”

NaSHOF’s 39th anniversary dinner takes place Sunday, Oct. 18, at the Renaissance Hotel (611 Commerce Street) in downtown Nashville.

The Foundation will induct songwriters Kye Fleming, Mark D. Sanders and late Country music icon Tammy Wynette into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The AT&T-sponsored event will celebrate the musical contributions of the newest inductees through star-studded performances of some of their biggest hits. Tickets for the event are $200 each, with limited seats available to the public by contacting event director Mark Ford at hotfix@nashvillesongwriters.com or 615.256.3354.

About NSAI: The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) is the world’s largest not-for-profit songwriters’ trade organization. Established in 1967, the membership of more than 5,000 spans the United States and seven international countries. For over 40 years, NSAI has been dedicated to protecting the rights of and serving aspiring and professional songwriters in all genres of music. For more information, visit www.nashvillesongwriters.com.

BMI has announced that it earned more than $905 million in revenues for its 2009 fiscal year, including its subsidiary Landmark Digital Services®, LLC. The company also announced that it increased royalty distributions to more than $788 million for the songwriters, composers and copyright owners it represents. With more than 400,000 songwriters, composers and music publisher affiliates, BMI is the world’s largest music copyright organization.

Despite one of the most difficult economic environments in BMI’s history, the company realized several industry-leading achievements over the past year:

• At home and abroad, BMI is capturing the momentum of a globalized music business. The strength of BMI’s repertoire around the world propelled the company to its best-ever year in international revenues, thanks to global hits from songwriter/artists including Lady Gaga, Colbie Caillat, Taylor Swift, Pink, will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas, Kid Rock, Kings of Leon, Pitbull, Shinedown and Latin superstars Juanes and Shakira, among others. BMI’s domestic repertoire gained value from signing the brightest new stars from abroad, including songwriter/artists such as Lily Allen, Estelle, Duffy, Grammy-winner Adele, Jay Sean and Leona Lewis.
• BMI completed the integration of Landmark Digital Services’ radio performance data into its radio survey, giving the company the industry’s most comprehensive and granular data on radio airplay. Landmark’s BlueArrow® technology is now delivering data to BMI from radio stations nationwide. Landmark also provides advanced audio-recognition products and services to a range of third-party clients including content providers, copyright owners and consumers of music and digital entertainment.
• BMI launched a complete redesign of its award-winning website, BMI.com®, with enhanced transaction tools for musical creators, music publishers and licensees alike. The new online transaction functionality speeds data entry for writers and publishers and enables licensing customers to easily complete online music reports and renew license agreements. A streamlined online membership module made possible the signing of more than 30,000 new songwriters and composers through its website, bringing BMI’s affiliate total to more than 400,000.
• BMI has significantly increased the scope and pace of its talent development activities, sponsoring and promoting more than 200 showcases, professional seminars and panels to support the careers of emerging songwriter/artists. Over the past several years, such programs have assisted in launching the careers of artists including John Legend, Lil Wayne, Maroon 5, Jamey Johnson and Lady Gaga, among others.
• Long a pioneer in the licensing of new media, BMI now has a portfolio of more than 6,700 digital media properties under license. Despite the widespread impact of the economic downturn, BMI was able to grow revenues in this sector by 11 percent.

BMI continued its long-term focus on revenue diversity, which provided stability to the company’s results despite the challenges presented by the economy. Revenue from non-broadcast media such as cable, satellite and digital media continue to increase its share of BMI’s total, joining general licensing as key growth areas. Thanks to long-term agreements, revenue from traditional broadcast radio and television remained strong.

“As BMI marks its 70th anniversary in the year ahead, we know we will be looking at an extremely challenging economic environment,” said BMI’s President & CEO Del Bryant. “We understand the significant market pressures faced by the businesses which we license, and we anticipate tough discussions in the year ahead as we negotiate new agreements for the use of our repertoire. At the same time, we are encouraged by the steady growth in our market share, and in the expanded use of music by both traditional and digital media, both dynamics that drive our licensing income. We have an intense focus on efficiency and cost containment. These factors give us confidence in our ability to meet the challenges of this volatile economic landscape, and to provide a point of stability to our songwriters and value to our customers, as the economy works its way to recovery.”

BMI’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. BMI’s consolidated financial information includes Landmark Digital Services®, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary.

In this story: Adele, Lily Allen, Black Eyed Peas, Del Bryant, Colbie Caillat, Duffy, Estelle, Jamey Johnson, Juanes, Kid Rock, Kings of Leon, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Leona Lewis, Lil Wayne, Maroon 5, Pitbull, Jay Sean, Shakira, Shinedown, Taylor Swift, Will.I.Am