BMI has announced that Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid will be presented with the BMI President’s Award at the 2026 BMI London Awards.
The songwriter, producer and musician will be honoured for his "distinctive artistry, lasting influence and celebrated body of work" at the September 28 ceremony which will be held at The Dorchester in London.
The private event will be hosted by BMI CEO Mike O’Neill, EVP, chief revenue & creative officer Mike Steinberg, and VP, worldwide creative Barbara Cane.
“From his early days honing his craft on the streets of London to becoming one of the most sought-after collaborators in music, Johnny has built an extraordinary career defined by creativity, authenticity and a deep respect for the craft of songwriting,” said Steinberg. “His remarkable gift for melody and storytelling, and his ability to capture human emotion, have helped shape some of the most memorable and enduring songs of the past two decades.We’re thrilled to honour his outstanding contributions to music with the BMI President’s Award.”
Originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, McDaid moved to London in his teens and has had songs recorded by artists including Ed Sheeran, BTS, Pink, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Lewis Capaldi, Jung Kook, Weezer, Shawn Mendes, David Guetta and Kelly Clarkson.
McDaid's collaborations with Sheeran include Shape of You, Photograph, Shivers and Bad Habits. He is a two-time Grammy nominee, a two-time Ivor Novello winner, has 17 BMI Awards and received the BMI Pop and London Song of the Year in 2018 for Shape of You and BMI London Song of the Year in 2022 for Bad Habits. Most recently, he co-wrote Bottle Up for The Backstreet Boys and Animal for Katseye.
We’re also excited to pay tribute to all of our outstanding award-winning music creators and recognise their incredible talent
Mike Steinberg, BMI
As a BMI President’s Award honouree, McDaid joins previous recipients including Benny Blanco, Luis Fonsi, Noel Gallagher, Ellie Goulding, Imagine Dragons, Jay Kay, Ludacris, Pink, Willie Nelson, Pitbull, T-Pain, Fraser T Smith, Taylor Swift, Brian Wilson and Dwight Yoakam, among others.
The awards will also pay tribute to the British and European songwriters and publishers of the previous year’s most-performed songs on US streaming, radio, film, television and visual media from BMI’s repertoire of more than 25 million musical works.
The BMI London Song of the Year, Million-Air Awards, and awards for Pop, Theatrical Film, Streaming Series and Network Television Music will also be presented throughout the evening.
“We’re also excited to pay tribute to all of our outstanding award-winning music creators and recognise their incredible talent,” added Steinberg.
