News Archive
Marketing and advertising studies show that we are better able to remember ads we are exposed to multiple times. When we see or hear something once, we are likely to forget it. But with repeated exposure it is more apt to stick in our brains. This also applies to melodies.…
BMI Indie Spotlight: Nate Mercereau
Listening to Nate Mercereau’s music is like staring down a kaleidoscope. The songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist surveys the fractured borders between sounds and celebrates the beautiful moments where they collide. Mercereau, who has produced or played on records by Jay-Z, Shawn Mendes, Lizzo, and The Weeknd, just to name a…
Lolla Indie Spotlight: Serena Isioma
By combining elements of alternative, indie, hip-hop, and R&B, 20-year-old Serena Isioma caught the music industry’s attention with her massive hit “Sensitive,” which has clocked over 50 million streams across platforms. The Nigerian-American artist landed on Rolling Stone’s Breakthrough 25 Chart, and she ranked at #6 and #1 on Shazam’s…
BMI Celebrates the 2021 Pop Awards
BMI proudly celebrates the 69th Annual BMI Pop Awards, recognizing the songwriters, publishers and administrators of the previous year’s most-performed pop songs in the United States across radio and digital streaming platforms. All winners were announced in a special online celebration and on BMI’s social channels, including the recipients of…
BMI Songwriters Take Center Stage at 2020 Billboard Music Awards
BMI is once again exceptionally proud of its songwriters who were recognized for their creative work at last night’s 2020 Billboard Music Awards. Held without an audience due to COVID-19 restrictions at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, the ceremony was nonetheless a star-studded event filled with stirring moments and…
Using Chords and Modulations as Musical Hooks in Your Songs
The chords we choose to accompany our melodies not only contribute to the flavor of our songs, they can provide some of those magical musical moments that make our songs hooky, exceptional, and unforgettable. To keep our listeners’ attention we need to include hooks, elements that are catchy and memorable,…
BMI Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of its R&B/Hip-Hop Awards Honoring the Genre’s Best Songwriters, Producers and Music Publishers
BMI is proud to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, recognizing the genre’s top songwriters, producers and publishers of the previous year. BMI’s Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Producer of the Year, Publisher of the Year and 2020’s Social Star were announced across BMI’s digital…
BMI Congratulates Its Winning Songwriters at the 2020 BET Awards
BMI songwriters made a strong showing, Sunday night, at the 2020 BET Awards, with several of our affiliates claiming major awards for their tremendous contributions over the last year. While BET made the celebration virtual in light of the pandemic, this year’s event — celebrating not only twenty years of…
BMI Congratulates its 2020 BET Nominees
Nominations for this year’s BET awards were announced yesterday with many BMI songwriters taking center stage in the music categories. The 20th anniversary of the event will air live on CBS and other Viacom networks, Sunday, June 28 at 8PM EST. Congratulations to all the nominees! Here’s the list of…
5 Tips for Making Your Lyrics Stand Out
At my songwriting workshops I stress the importance of including lyric and melodic elements in our songs that will compel listeners and decision-makers to choose our material over the tough competition. Let’s look at some ways to write lyrics that command attention. 1. Find a Fresh Angle It’s unlikely that…