Kris Kristofferson, Taylor Swift, Bobby Pinson, Brooks & Dunn and Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville Earn Top Honors At BMI Country Awards

NASHVILLE, TN. (Top40 Charts/ BMI) - The 57th Annual BMI Country Awards celebrated the genre's top hit-makers tonight in Nashville. In addition to toasting the writers and publishers of the past year's 50 most-performed country songs from the BMI repertoire, the ceremony honored Kris Kristofferson as a BMI Icon; named Taylor Swift's 'Love Story' Song of the Year, Bobby Pinson Songwriter of the Year, and Sony/ATV Music Publishing Publisher of the Year; and saluted Brooks & Dunn with the BMI President's Award.

BMI President & CEO Del Bryant; BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville Jody Williams; and BMI Assistant Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville Clay Bradley hosted the black-tie event, which was staged at the music rights organization's Music Row offices.

Taylor Swift's sweeping 'Love Story' was named Song of the Year. Published by Sony/ATV Tree and Taylor Swift Music, 'Love Story' is Swift's second consecutive BMI Song of the Year; 'Teardrops on My Guitar' earned the prestigious honor in 2008.

Bobby Pinson earned the Songwriter of the Year crown for co-writing Sugarland's chart-toppers 'All I Want to Do' and 'Already Gone,' the co-composed Toby Keith's poignant 'She Never Cried in Front of Me,' and Josh Gracin's nostalgic 'We Weren't Crazy.'

Publishing giant Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville earned its eighth consecutive BMI Country Publisher of the Year title.

BMI President & CEO Del Bryant also saluted the prolific career of Brooks and Dunn with the BMI President's Award.

The 2009 BMI Country Awards also honored songwriters Jeffrey Steele and Lee Thomas Miller, Toby Keith, Sugarland's Kristian Bush, Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, Phil O'Donnell, Jim Beavers, Brett Beavers, James Otto, Clint Daniels, and Dallas Davidson.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is an American performing right organization that represents more than 400,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music and more than 6.5 million works. BMI reported $905 million for its 2009 fiscal year in performing right collections. BMI has represented the most popular and beloved music from around the world for 70 years. The 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.