BMI Names Lee Thomas Miller As 2026 Songwriter Ambassador

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Lee Thomas Miller.

BMI has named Lee Thomas Miller as its 2026 BMI Songwriter Ambassador in Residence for the Nashville Creative office.

Throughout the year, Miller will host his own BMI Acoustic Lounge, lead BMI’s signature round at the Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival and perform at BMI’s Key West Songwriters Festival and Annapolis Songwriters Festival. He will serve as a key speaker during exclusive BMI events such as BMI’s Next Big Wave Mixer as well as BMI’s Catalog Cast, where he will converse with Belmont University, MTSU and TSU students during the spring course.

“I signed with BMI in the late ’80s, and they were the first place I went to play terrible songs and demos on cheap cassette tapes. BMI has been one of the few constants through decades of change,” says Miller. “Not only are they a vital part of my own career, but I also have the honor of fighting alongside them for reform and protection in our copyright laws. It is humbling that BMI would ask me to serve in this capacity. It is the kind of program that makes our music community a family.”

“Few people understand the songwriter journey like Lee Thomas Miller, who has navigated this changing industry for three decades,” adds BMI Vice President, Creative, Nashville Clay Bradley. “His ability to lead by example and his rooted experience make him the ideal ambassador to help remind songwriters of their worth.”

Miller has earned 13 BMI Awards, both the CMA and an ACM “Song of the Year” award for Jamey Johnson’s “In Color,” the CMA “Single of the Year” award for Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This” and three Grammy nominations. He has amassed seven No. 1 hits, 18 Top 20 singles, over 25 million radio spins and over 100 million streams. He has additional cuts with Scotty McCreery, Hailey Whitters, Bryan Martin, Brandon Heath, Parker McCollum, Jason Aldean, Brothers Osborne, Kelsey Hart, Kashus Culpepper and more. In 2015, Miller received the inaugural BMI Champion Award and currently serves as President of NSAI.

Lauryn Sink
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