Faith Hill (Photo: Russell James); Tim McGraw (Photo: Danny Clinch)

On Oct. 5, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw will receive the 73rd and 74th stars on Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m. in Walk of Fame Park. The event is presented by the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. and its charitable foundation, Music City, Inc.

“Faith Hill and Tim McGraw both came to Nashville in the 1980s with big dreams and huge talent,” said Nashville Mayor Megan Barry. “Driven by their determination and a lot of hard work, they eventually found great success – and each other. Tim and Faith have made a big difference in our city, not only with their music but also with their generous contributions to many important causes. They deserve to join the many other incredible artists on the Music City Walk of Fame, and I’m looking forward to their induction.”

Music City’s walk of fame was created in 2006 with permanent sidewalk medallions displaying names of the inductees in a star-and-guitar design. Inductees are recognized for their significant contributions to preserving the musical heritage of Nashville and for contributing to the world through song or other industry collaboration. Nominations are open to the public and are accepted in the categories of Artist, Musician, Songwriter, and Producer/Music Industry Executive. Application forms are reviewed by the Music City Walk of Fame’s anonymous selection committee.

Hill has had 14 No. 1 singles, won five Grammy Awards, 12 ACM Awards and three CMA Awards. She has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and is currently preparing a new daytime lifestyle show based in Nashville.

Since his debut in 1992, McGraw has sold more than 56 million records worldwide. He has won three Grammy Awards, 16 ACM Awards and 14 CMA Awards. His acting skills were highlighted in the award-winning movies Friday Night Lights and The Blind Side. He next appears in The Shack, which hits theaters in March 2017.

BMI has announced the highest revenues in its 76-year history, achieving $1.060 billion for its fiscal year ended June 30. The company also distributed and administered a record-breaking $931 million to its songwriters, composers and publishers, a 6 percent increase over last year.

These results represent the most public performance revenue and royalty distributions by any music rights organization in the world.

BMI operates on a non-profit-making basis and returns approximately 88 percent of all revenue to the musical creators and copyright owners it represents.

“We are beyond pleased with this milestone,” said Mike O’Neill, President and CEO, BMI. “The ability to provide our songwriters, composers and publishers with our largest royalty distributions to date proves that the current marketplace is working efficiently, a fact the DOJ has undermined with its recent interpretation of our consent decree. We’re eager to build on this success and continue to ensure that all of our music creators are fairly paid for their work and that licensees maintain full access to BMI’s repertoire of nearly 12 million songs. As of now, the DOJ’s interpretation will disrupt these efforts, stifle creative freedom for songwriters, limit choices for music users and bog down the marketplace. We are determined not to let that happen.”

BMI’s total domestic revenue performance of $784 million was bolstered by record-breaking results in its digital and general licensing categories. Digital revenue, which exceeded $100 million for the first time last year, hit a new high of $152 million, up 50 percent. Numerous new agreements were signed throughout the year, notably a multi-year license with Pandora, as well as deals with Spotify, Apple Music, Microsoft, Sony’s PlayStation Video and Slacker, among others.

General Licensing, which includes fees from businesses like restaurants, bars, hotels and fitness facilities, along with other income, hit a new milestone of $140 million. The category added 15,000 new businesses to the hundreds of thousands already in BMI’s diverse portfolio.

Revenue from all media licensing, including radio, television and cable and satellite entertainment, grew to $492 million, with cable and satellite entertainment accounting for the largest portion of BMI’s domestic revenue for the third consecutive year.

International revenues came in at a strong $276 million, despite significant economic challenges overseas resulting in lower foreign exchange rates. While down 5 percent year-to-year in U.S. dollars, BMI’s international revenues would have exceeded last year’s performance by $14 million had it not been for the strengthening dollar.

BMI processed more than one trillion audio performances this year, over 950 billion of which were digital, a 45 percent increase from last year.

The BMI Stage will present 24 bands at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, to be held on two consecutive weekends in Austin, Texas: Sept. 30-Oct. 2 and Oct. 7-9.

The first weekend of the festival features 12 acts including Aubrie Sellers, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Maren Morris, Quaker City Night Hawks and more. Weekend two will showcase Margaret Glaspy, LANco, The Roosevelts, Atlas Genius, Khruangbin and Amanda Shires, along with six others.

BMI’s partnership with C3 Presents’ festivals is designed to offer more prime showcasing opportunities to its songwriters, a distinct priority of the organization in support of its songwriters and music creators.

“We’re so grateful for our partnership with C3 Presents to offer BMI songwriters a chance to perform live at the 15th Anniversary of Austin City Limits Music Festival,” said Mason Hunter, BMI’s Executive Director of Events and Strategic Partnerships. “Festival goers will have the opportunity to be the first to discover this year’s emerging artists on the BMI Stage!”

BMI Stage at Austin City Limits Music Festival Lineup:

Friday, September 30
Liza Anne, 12:15 – 1:00 p.m.
Welshly Arms, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Maren Morris, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Julien Baker, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 1
The Gills, 12:45 – 1:30 p.m.
Lucy Dacus, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Aubrie Sellers, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
New Madrid, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 2
Luke Winslow-King, 12:15 – 1:00 p.m.
Basia Bulat, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Quaker City Night Hawks, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Friday, October 7
Susto, 12:15 – 1:00 p.m.
Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
LANco, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Foy Vance, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 8
The Roosevelts, 12:45 – 1:30 p.m.
Margaret Glaspy, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Khruangbin, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Blue Healer, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 9
Elise Davis, 12:15 – 1:00 p.m.
Amasa Hines, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Atlas Genius, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Amanda Shires, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.