Country Songs Make Up Half of Most-Performed Songs in 2011 from BMI Catalogue
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the global leader in music rights management, honored its Country Songwriter, Song and Publisher of the Year at the 60th annual BMI Country Awards held at the company’s Nashville, TN building. Also saluted were the writers and publishers of the past year’s 50 most-performed songs on radio and TV from BMI’s country repertoire. In addition, the incredible songwriting career of Tom T. Hall was celebrated by naming him a BMI Icon.
Hall joins other BMI Icons who have had “a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers” including Billy Sherrill, John Fogerty, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Isaac Hayes, Merle Haggard, Brian Wilson, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, the Bee Gees, Bobby Braddock, Bill Anderson, Ray Davies, James Brown and more.
10 of the top 20 most-performed works in the U.S. from BMI’s repertoire were country songs in 2011, accounting for more than 11 million radio and TV performances alone. If each performance were played back to back, the total time spent listening would be the equivalent of 66 consecutive years, underscoring the staggering volume of country music represented by BMI on the airwaves. Country music has achieved overwhelming success in the mainstream marketplace, and claims more terrestrial radio towers than any other format in the U.S.
