May 5, 2003

BMI Honors Top Latin Songwriters, Publishers at 10th Annual Awards Ceremony

en Español

BMI presented its 10th Annual Latin Awards last night with top honors going to songwriter/producer Est�fano, Shakira and Tim Mitchell's hit song "Suerte," and publisher peermusic. The black-tie ceremony, hosted by BMI President and CEO Frances W. Preston and Assistant Vice President of Latin Music Diane J. Almodovar, honored the top writers and publishers of the most performed Latin songs on U.S. radio and television at a 400-plus person gala dinner at the Eden Roc Resort in Miami Beach, Florida. The gala event coincided with the Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards 2003, which runs until May 8, also at the Eden Roc Resort.

BMI executives congratulate Publisher of the Year peermusic and Songwriter of the Year Est�fano at the 10th Annual BMI Latin Awards held May 5 in Miami. Pictured are BMI Executive Vice President Del Bryant, peermusic President Kathy Spanberger, peermusic Chairman Ralph Peer II, Estefano, BMI President and CEO Frances Preston and BMI Assistant Vice President of Latin Music Diane Almodovar

Writer/producer Est�fano was named BMI Latin Songwriter of the Year for the third time with three songs on the most performed list, including "Necesidad" and "Usted Se Me Llev� La Vida," both recorded by Alexandre Pires, and "T� Y Yo" recorded by Thal�a. Est�fano, who earned the prestigious title at last year's BMI Latin Awards, also shared the Songwriter of the Year crown with Marco Antonio P�rez, Mario Quintero, Kike Santander and Shakira at the 2000 awards ceremony.

A hit in both Spanish and English, Shakira's "Suerte" ("Whenever, Wherever"), co-written with Tim Mitchell and published by Aniwi Music, LLC and Foreign Imported Productions and Publishing, Inc., earned Song of the Year accolades as the most performed song in the BMI Latin catalog. The #1 hit is from the Latin diva's multi-platinum Spanish and English-language album, Laundry Service. Peermusic was named Publisher of the Year with a record 12 songs on the most performed list, including Luis Miguel's "Amor, Amor, Amor," "Derecho A La Vida" by Conjunto Primavera, and "Nada" by Juanes. This is the fourth time the powerhouse music publisher has earned the top honor at the BMI Latin Awards.

Click here for the BMI Latin Awards Song List Songwriter of the Year Estefano and Tim Mitchell, co-writer of Song of the Year "Suerte," show off their BMI Crystals at the 10th Annual BMI Latin Awards

Est�fano

Shakira

Tim Mitchell

Other multiple award-winning songwriters included Mario Quintero and Shakira, with two songs each on the most performed list. Publishers earning two or more Citations of Achievement were Aniwi Music, LLC, Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc., EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc., Fernando Osorio Songs, Foreign Imported Productions and Publishing, Inc., M�s Flamingo Music, Mexican Music Copyright, Inc., SER-CA Publishing, Inc., Sony/ATV Latin Music Publishing LLC, Tigres del Norte Ediciones Musicales, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. and World Deep Music Publishing Corporation

High-resolution photos of the 2003 BMI Latin Awards are available at press.bmi.com.