BMI Foundation, Inc. has announced the recipients of the John Lennon Award, an esteemed annual songwriting competition established in 1997 by Yoko Ono in conjunction with the BMI Foundation to honor preeminent songwriter John Lennon’s memory with three annual prizes totaling $20,000 for the best original songs by young songwriters in contemporary musical genres including alternative, pop, rock, indie, electronica, R&B, and experimental.  The 2026 first prize award was given to Claire Nichols for her song "pomegranate.red,” while the second prize was given in a tie to both August James for his song “Illicit” and Hope Watson for her song “Twice as Loud.”

BMI Foundation, Inc. has announced the recipients of the 2026-2029 New Music Grants, which provide three years of unrestricted funding to non-profit organizations across the United States. Selected organizations include new music presenters and organizations which provide education in songwriting and composition to students in K-12 schools.

BMI Foundation, Inc. celebrated the recipients of the Evelyn Buckstein, Kavi Ohri Memorial, and Theodora Zavin Scholarships at a small ceremony on Monday, June 15, at BMI’s New York City headquarters. The 2026 scholarship recipients, Jessica "jmac" McIlquham, Devon Lee, and Amelie Siller were honored surrounded by their family members, teachers, and BMI Foundation Board of Trustees.

BMI Foundation, Inc. presented the 2026 Dolly Parton Songwriters Award to Arkansas-based singer-songwriter Kaden Trev at the Ryman & BMI Block Party in Nashville on Thursday, June 4th. Kaden’s winning song “Write My Wrongs” was selected from a record-breaking 600 applicants by a panel of music industry experts.

BMI Foundation, Inc. and BMI announced the recipients of the 74th Annual BMI Composer Awards on May 27th at Joe’s Pub in New York City.

BMI Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce a new partnership with 13-time GRAMMY Award-winning recording artist, songwriter, and producer Babyface to create a new competitive program, the BMI Foundation Babyface Award.

BMI Foundation, Inc. has announced the creation of the John Adams Award, sponsored by a generous $100,000 donation by composer John Adams and artist Deborah O’Grady. The John Adams Award will be granted to one BMI Composer Award recipient annually in recognition of compositional excellence.

BMI Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce a new panel of music industry veterans who will serve as Artistic Consultants for the Foundation’s flagship organizational grant program, the New Music Grants. This new group of consultants includes music industry veterans such as conductors, performers, professors, publishers and heads of organizations across the country who will serve the program in two vital ways: nominating organizations who may be eligible to apply and evaluating completed applications to receive a minimum of three years of operational support.

BMI Foundation, Inc. awarded the 2025 Charlie Feldman Award to Miami-based singer-songwriter Carlos Neda.

Deirdre Chadwick, President of the BMI Foundation, Inc., has announced changes to the format of the BMI Foundation New Music Grants Program. The program will now provide up to three years of support to qualifying music organizations across the United States, adjudicated by a panel of Artistic Consultants made up of musicians and music industry veterans.

BMI Foundation, Inc. awarded media composers Yaron Eigenstein and Sarah Senior the 2025 Pete Carpenter Fellowships in Los Angeles and New York, respectively. Eigenstein will receive mentorship from Kevin Kiner (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Peacemaker) and Ronit Kirchman (The Sinner, Fractal), while Senior will receive mentorship from New York-based composers Trevor Gureckis (The Goldfinch, Old) and Gil Talmi (Harry & Megan, Lead Me Home). Los Angeles-based composer Rick McGuire was also named the Honorable Mention for the award.

BMI Foundation, Inc. has named Singer/Songwriter Janette Mata as the 2025 peermusic Latin Music Award recipient in recognition of her original song “Triste Despedida.”

BMI Foundation, Inc. has announced the presentation of the 2025 Chris Trousdale Dream Awards and Curtis Mayfield Scholarships to high school students across the country.

BMI Foundation, Inc. has announced the recipients of the 2025 BMI Foundation John Lennon Awards. Singer/songwriter Dafna was awarded the first prize in the esteemed competition, with Chloe Southern and Julia Kirkwood receiving second and third place, respectively, out of over 650 applications.

BMI Foundation, Inc. presented the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize and Manny Albam Commission to Michael R. Dudley Jr. for their composition “Infidels” at the 36th Annual BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Summer Showcase, held at Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space in New York City on June 20th. The night also featured the premiere of 2024 winner Takumi Kakimoto’s Manny Albam Commissioned work “Chasing the Horizon.”

BMI Foundation, Inc. has announced the recipients of the Evelyn Buckstein Scholarship, Kavi Ohri Memorial Scholarship, and Theodora Zavin Scholarship are Dallana Santos, Shania Evans, and Luca Castrogiovanni, respectively.

BMI Foundation, Inc. is thrilled to announce that Flagstaff-based singer-songwriter Audrey Ketter was honored with the Dolly Parton Songwriters Award at the CMA Fest Ryman & BMI Block Party in Nashville on June 5th.

BMI Foundation, Inc. and BMI announced the recipients of the 73rd annual BMI Composer Awards on May 28th at Joe’s Pub in New York City. The awards, which celebrate excellence in composition, were presented to six emerging composers by BMI Foundation President and BMI Executive Director of Classical Deirdre Chadwick and renowned composer and Chair of the Composer Awards Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. 

BMI Foundation, Inc. has named composer and multi-instrumentalist Anton Kot as the winner of the 10^th Annual BMI Future Jazz Masters Award, with composer and pianist Warren Pettey receiving an honorable mention. The announcement was made at a private event co-hosted by BMI and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in celebration of the Jazz Masters Fellows in Washington, D.C.

BMI Foundation, Inc. has announced two new four-year partnerships with award-winning organizations American Composers Orchestra (ACO) and International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) to present works receiving honors at the BMI Composer Awards.