Lin-Manuel Miranda Honored With Songwriter Icon Award by National Music Publishers' Association

The National Music Publishers' Association yesterday held its annual meeting at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The event honored industry leaders, iconic songs and songwriters and examined new data.

The program opened with GRAMMY Album of the Year winner Jon Batiste performing a stunning tribute to the 2022 NMPA Songwriter Icon Lin-Manuel Miranda.

NMPA President & CEO David Israelite delivered his state of the industry address which detailed industry trends, including that 2021 total industry revenue came to $4,701,083,842.39, a 15.31% increase from the previous year. He also announced the new NMPA Streaming Report Card which will be produced based on new industry data to analyze revenue from streaming services. He also unveiled the new NMPA App Initiative which will ensure apps that utilize music are properly paying music publishers and songwriters. This includes filing a lawsuit against Vinkle on Wednesday. Additionally, Israelite announced the launch of the NOTES Program - the National Organization To Empower Songwriters. NOTES will educate and empower creators to come together to affect change.

The keynote conversation with Universal Music Group Chairman & CEO Sir Lucian Grainge examined his beginnings as a publisher as well as key insights into where the industry is headed. A panel focusing on Women in the Industry featured GRAMMY-winning songwriter Autumn Rowe, UMPG Chairman & CEO Jody Gerson, Warner Chappell Music Co-Chair & COO Carianne Marshall, Reservoir Founder & President Golnar Khosrowshahi and was moderated by NMPA EVP & GC Danielle Aguirre. The panel concluded with Aguirre announcing that the NMPA Supporting Our Next Generation of Songwriters (SONGS) Foundation is committing $100,000 to She Is The Music towards developing a She Is The Songwriter camp.

There were incredible performances throughout the event. The NMPA Iconic Song award was given to Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, and Chris Mann performed a moving version of the piece. Madilyn Bailey performed her hit Wiser as well as her viral version of Sia's Titanium. GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Ryan Shaw performed a stunning medley of hits from Lin-Manuel's catalog.

Kennedy Center Honor, Grammy, Tony, Pulitzer Prize, and Emmy award winning songwriter, actor, director, and producer Lin-Manuel Miranda accepted his 2022 NMPA Songwriter Icon award by acknowledging his unprecedented honor, saying, "I was made aware that I am the first musical theater writer to get this award which is extraordinary." He continued by thanking all of the writers he has collaborated with and describing his process. "You sit at the piano or you take a walk in the park and you sing to yourself. When it feels true you write it down little by little, draft by draft. You feel your way toward the song."

About NMPA

Founded in 1917, the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) is the trade association representing all American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The NMPA's mandate is to protect and advance the interests of music publishers and songwriters in matters relating to the domestic and global protection of music copyrights. Learn more at nmpa.org.