Bryan Ferry to Be Named Icon at BMI London Awards

LONDON, UK. (Broadcast Music, Inc.)--Bryan Ferry (PRS) will be named a BMI Icon at the U.S. performing right organization's annual London Awards, slated for Tuesday, October 7 at London's Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane. The invitation-only gala will recognize the U.K., European and Jamaican songwriters and publishers of the past year's most-played BMI songs on American radio and television. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a United States-based performing right organization that collects and distributes monies for the public performance of music on outlets including radio, television and the Internet in the U.S.

The Icon designation is given to BMI songwriters who have bestowed "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." Bryan Ferry joins an elite list of past honorees that includes multi-genre nobility Peter Gabriel, Ray Davies, Van Morrison, the Bee Gees, Isaac Hayes, Dolly Parton, James Brown, Willie Nelson, Hall & Oates, Paul Simon, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steve Winwood and more.

Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Executive Director, Writer/Publisher Relations, Europe & Asia Brandon Bakshi, the BMI London Awards will also present the Robert S. Musel Award to the writer and publisher of the most performed song of the year. BMI will also bestow "Million-Air" certificates on writers and publishers whose songs have achieved over three million U.S. radio and television performances -- the equivalent of more than 17 years of continuous airplay.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is an American performing right organization that represents more than 375,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music and more than 6.5 million works. BMI's most recent financial results, $839 million in performing right collections for its fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, were the highest for any copyright organization in the world. BMI has represented the most popular and beloved music from around the world for over 65 years. The non-profit-making U.S. corporation collects license fees from businesses that use music, which it then distributes as royalties to the musical creators and copyright owners it represents.