BMI Christian Music Awards to be presented on June 20

BMI will honor the songwriters and publishers of the past year's most performed Christian songs at the 2005 BMI Christian Music Awards on Monday, June 20. Staged at the company's Music Row offices, the invitation-only event will spotlight the top songs in the Adult Contemporary, Christian Hit Radio, Rock, Southern Gospel and Contemporary/Traditional categories.

Phil Graham, Senior Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, and Joyce Rice, Director, Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville, will present BMI Citations of Achievement recognizing the most popular songs of each genre.  The ceremony will culminate in the announcements of Songwriter of the Year, Publisher of the Year and Most Performed Christian Song of the Year (all genres).

Previous BMI Award winners include Songwriters of the Year Steven Curtis Chapman, Toby McKeehan, Kirk Franklin, Gerald Crabb, Bob Herdman and Audio Adrenaline’s Will McGinniss and Mark Stuart, plus Dottie Peoples, Yolanda Adams, Rebecca St. James, Michael Tait, Jars of Clay, Jennifer Knapp, Skillet, Pillar, Marc Byrd, Chad Chapin, Rodney Griffin, Charlie Peacock, Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Relient K, and Joe Beck.

About BMI:

Now marking its 65th year in business, BMI is an American performing rights organization that represents more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and publishers in all genres of music. With a repertoire of more than 6.5 million musical works from around the world, the non-profit-making corporation collects license fees from businesses that use music, which it then distributes as royalties to the musical creators and copyright owners it represents.

BMI’s Citation of Achievement performance certificates are given annually in recognition of popularity in the field of Christian music, as measured by feature broadcast performances on American radio and television; this year’s Christian Music Awards eligibility period ran January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004.

A complete list of 2005 BMI Christian Music Awards winners and background information are included on BMI.com. High resolution photos will be available at http://press.bmi.com. To request access, please contact mediarelations@bmi.com.