Other top award winners were songwriters Amund Bjørklund and Espen Lind (both members of Norwegian performing right society TONO and represented in the U.S. by BMI), along with Ne-Yo, who received the prestigious Robert S. Musel Award for Song of the Year for Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable.” The song is published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd./Stellar Songs Ltd.; the song and songwriters also received the BMI Urban Song of the Year prize earlier this year.

Modest Mouse’s “Dashboard” earned BMI’s College Song of the Year crown for tallying the most performances on American college radio. The infectious lead single off the band’s We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank album, “Dashboard” was co-written by Johnny Marr (PRS), Tom "King Sour" Peloso and Joe Plummer and published by Chrysalis Music.

The BMI Dance Award went to Ian Dench and Amanda Ghost (PRS) for “Beautiful Liar,” recorded by genre-bending combo Beyoncé and Shakira. “Beautiful Liar” was published by Bucks Music Group Ltd. (PRS), EMI Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS) and Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS).

Prestigious “Million-Air” certificates were also presented throughout the evening in recognition of those songs that have achieved more than three million U.S. radio and television performances — the equivalent of more than 17 years of continuous airplay. The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” co-penned by Sir Mick Jagger (PRS) and Keith Richards (PRS), and Eric Clapton’s (PRS) “Layla,” co-written by Clapton and Jim Gordon, both topped the list with seven million performances each, while John Lennon’s (PRS) self-penned “Imagine” was recognized for six million performances. Five-million performance honorees included “Higher Love” co-penned by Steve Winwood (PRS) and Will Jennings; Graham Lyle’s (PRS) “What’s Love Got To Do With It”; and “You Really Got Me,” composed by BMI Icon Ray Davies (PRS). BMI Icon Steve Winwood also composed two more songs in the list: “Gimme Some Loving” (4 million) co-written by Muff Winwood and Spencer Davies (both PRS), and “Valerie” (3 million) which was also co-written by Will Jennings.

Additional award-winners whose compositions soared past the three million performance mark included Shania Twain (PRS), Graham Gouldman (PRS), The Bee Gees’ Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb (all PRS), Sir Paul McCartney (PRS), Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Roxette’s Per Gessle (STIM), Mats Persson (STIM), Paul Herman (PRS), Mort Shuman (SACEM), Wally Badarou (SACEM), Stig Anderson (STIM), and ABBA’s Benny Andersson (STIM) and Björn Ulvaeus (BUMA).

In addition to winning Dance Song of the Year, “Beautiful Liar” garnered BMI Pop and Urban Awards for writers Ian Dench and Amanda Ghost (both PRS); Dench and Ghost also scored Pop Awards for Jordin Sparks’ “Tattoo,” and College Song of the Year “Dashboard” garnered Pop Awards for its creative hive. Kanye West’s “Stronger,” co-written by West, Thomas Bangalter (PRS), Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (PRS) and Michael Dean, earned awards in both Pop and Urban categories as well, as did Song of the Year “Irreplaceable.” Iconic rocker Pete Townsend (PRS) garnered three awards in the TV Music Awards field, while KT Tunstall (PRS) and Julieta Venegas (SGAE) each secured two awards in the Pop and Latin fields, respectively. Composers Rupert Gregson-Williams and George Fenton (both PRS), also earned two awards each: Gregson-Williams in the Film category and Fenton in Film and Emmy Award-winning divisions.

A complete list of award winners is available here.

For more information on the Atlanta Downhill Challenge, please visit www.myspace.com/downhillchallenge.

The Acoustic Lounge is one of many opportunities BMI offers to artists to showcase their talent in front of their peers and a supportive audience. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun, offering a great opportunity to network with other aspiring and working singer/songwriters. For established writers, it provides a chance to monitor new musical trends and be involved in the grass-roots/DIY musical movement.

BMI’s Casey Robison and Delia Orjuela; Putman Murdock; Ramy; Benton Paul; Scott Reams; and BMI’s Marissa Lopez and Myles Lewis.

Putman Murdock, Benton Paul and Ramy

Created in 1992, the BMI Film Scoring Scholarship awards students in USC's Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program at the Thornton School of Music. The acclaimed program offers student composers numerous opportunities to work with other student filmmakers and faculty including working professionals in the film, television and video game industry. The financial scholarship is based on composition and the level of performance the students demonstrate throughout the school year. The recipients are chosen by the faculty in Thornton's scoring program.

Shown at the presentation in BMI’s Los Angeles office are (l-r): Scholarship recipients Layla Minoui and Ludwig Goransson; BMI’s Ray Yee and recipients Thomas Parisch and Brian H. Kim. Not shown, recipient Nathaniel Blume who could not attend.

BMI’s stage at the Austin City Limits Music Festival exemplifies the organization’s continued dedication to fostering auspicious new talent. BMI’s layered approach to songwriter development comprises educational, creative and promotional opportunities, including the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre, Jason Blume Songwriters’ and Jazz Composers Workshops; 8 off 8th, Pick of the Month and Acoustic Lounge showcase series; and stages at premier festivals including Lollapalooza, South By Southwest, the Key West Songwriters Festival and the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Ron Jones and BMI’s Ray Yee

Jones at work

Photos by Dan Goldwasser/ScoringSessions.com

The pen behind ’70s smashes including “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I’ve Got,” Lambert also released an acclaimed solo album in 1972. The film shadows the hit songwriter on a unique tour as he rediscovers fans of his work in an unexpected place. Variety praised the film, calling it a “thoroughly engaging…celebration of contributions by an unsung hero of pop culture.”

After the premiere, Lambert will perform an acoustic set at Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette Street, 10003) Wednesday, October 15 at 9:30 p.m. Admission is $25 and open to the public; to purchase tickets in advance, please visit joespub.com.

The line-up at the BMI/CMJ showcase will include seven auspicious acts: valiant imports Hypernova; poignant storytellers Passenger; street-funk amalgamators Blonde Acid Cult; explosive wordsmith Watt White; hook-laden Nelo; genre-smashing Outernational; and southern rockers Ponderosa.

BMI continues its association with the CMJ Music Marathon Festival by hosting an information booth October 21-25 at the Exhibit Hall, located in the penthouse of New York University’s Kimmel Center in Greenwich Village (60 Washington Sq. South).

The schedule for the BMI-sponsored CMJ Marathon Music Festival is as follows:

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 – Crash Mansion

7:30 p.m. – Nelo: In today’s pop culture world where music idols are auditioned, judge, anointed and forgotten, Nelo took the opposite route and worked their tails off to promote their Justice Records self-titled debut release featuring lead single “You Don’t Know.” www.myspace.com/nelomusic

8:15 p.m. – Passenger: With brilliant songwriting and a quick-witted sense of humor, five-member band Passenger revels in engaging their fans with the raw, core-influenced sound displayed on their debut CD, Wicked Man’s Rest. www.myspace.com/passengerofficial

9:00 p.m. – Ponderosa: Ponderosa’s catalog of campfire songs, southern rock anthems and drunken two-step shuffles has received the adulation of fans who flock to their jaw-dropping performances throughout the southeast region. www.myspace.com/ponderosamusic

9:45 p.m. – Watt White: After logging several years fronting NYC-based punk metal band The Smash Up, Watt picked up a pen and drew from an untapped realm of melodies and lyrics to create the first half of his debut Dare Anything. www.myspace.com/wattwhite

10:30 p.m. – Outernational: With raves from credible elites like BBC Radio, MTV News and The Village Voice, Outernational recently finished up recording their debut CD with Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), soon to be released on Warner Bros. Records. www.myspace.com/outernational

11:15 p.m. – Blonde Acid Cult: Influenced by Manchester’s Hacienda party scene as much as they are by James Brown drum breaks and punk-rock hip-hop like the Beastie Boys, Blonde Acid Cult are really inspired by their own scene of friends, and people who trip to independent beats. www.myspace.com/blondeacidcult

12:00 a.m. – Hypernova: After playing numerous secret gigs in their homeland of Iran, Hypernova’s exodus to Los Angeles birthed their debut, Through The Chaos, which has received favorable press from MTV, The New York Times, NPR and ABC. www.myspace.com/hypernovamusic