BMI Announces Winners of 2020 Film, TV & Visual Media Awards

The winners of BMI’s 36th annual Film, TV & Visual Media Awards were announced Monday (June 15) across the organization’s social and digital platforms.

Honorees — who were awarded for their work on the top-performing films, TV shows and other visual media from the previous year — include composers Tyler Bates, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Atli Örvarsson, Mike Post, Mac Quayle and Brian Tyler. Örvarsson was the top winner this year, with a total of five awards (known as “crystals”) for his work on TV series including Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, FBI and FBI Most Wanted.

Elsewhere, Tyler, Quayle and Bates received three apiece. Tyler won for his work on Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I. and Yellowstone; Quayle won for 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star and American Horror Story; and Bates was awarded for Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Netflix series The Punisher.

Joker composer Guðnadóttir — who earlier this year became the first solo female to take home the Oscar for Best Original Score for a dramatic composition — won her first BMI Award this year for her work on the DC Comics film. She was also awarded a second crystal in special recognition of her Academy Award win.

Aside from Guðnadóttir, first time BMI winners this year included Ann Drubich (Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark); Nate Heller (A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood); Chris Westlake (Castle Rock); Dominik Scherrer (The Widow); Sonya Belousova (The Romanoffs); Niki Hexum (Henry Danger); Alex Shenkman (New Amsterdam); Robert ToTeras (Sugar Rush); and the team of Nicolas Barry, Rene Garza Aldape and Tomas Jacobi (Paradise PD).

Meanwhile, Post — the winningest BMI TV Awards recipient in history — added to his already-substantial haul with a BMI award for his work on Magnum P.I., as well as a BMI Spotlight Award for his continuing work on Law & Order: SVU, the longest-running drama in TV history. Post has won a total of 55 BMI TV Awards over the course of his four-decade career.

“Music is such an integral part of our favorite films and television shows, and our composers’ stellar musical contributions have never been more important or appreciated,” said BMI vp creative relations Doreen Ringer-Ross in a statement. “This year’s group of honorees showcases the creative versatility within this genre and celebrates the very best in music for film, television and visual media. We’re thrilled to recognize BMI’s talented community of composers and look forward to celebrating together in person next year.”

To celebrate their achievements, BMI created a special page on its website that includes exclusive video content and more about each of the winners. You can find a complete list of winners here.