‘WE WILL ROCK YOU’
Becomes MOST-PLAYED SONG
AT AMERICAN PRO SPORTS GAMES FOR 08/09 SEASON
NASHVILLE,
October 28, 2009 – “We Will Rock You,” a favorite
of sports fans and teams for three decades, ranks
as the most-played song at games of the National
Football League, National Hockey League
and Major League Baseball last season.
The
ranking was announced today by Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), an organization
which licenses more than half the music played in America on behalf of more
than 400,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers.
“We
Will Rock You” was written by Brian May and
included in a 1977 album titled News of the World by the British rock group Queen. While the song has been
played by many sports teams over the years, the two which played it most last
season were the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
“‘We
Will Rock You’ is not only an iconic rock anthem
but the energy – the ‘stomp, stomp, clap’ – and rhythm of this song energizes
fans at every event,” said BMI President and CEO Del Bryant. “A great
song inspires and engages you, and this song grabs you from the first bar. It’s
an anthem and rightfully deserving of this distinction in the sporting world.”
BMI
tracks performances of songs at NFL, NHL and MLB events, collects fees from the
teams, and distributes royalties to songwriters and composers. The current BMI
ranking covers the period from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009.
“We
Will Rock You” has accumulated more than 3 million U.S. radio and TV feature
performances from 1977 through the first quarter of 2009. BMI calculates that
one million performances of a song (averaging three minutes in length)
represents 5.7 years of continuous airplay. Using this formula, the U.S.
radio and TV performances of “We Will Rock You” equal more than 18 years of
continuous airplay.
“Pump
It” by the Black Eyed Peas, which was the
previous top sports song, moves to second place in the new BMI rankings.
Rounding out the top 10 are “Twilight Zone,”
“Song 2,” “Rock and Roll Parts 1 and 2,” “Black Betty,” “Cowboys from Hell,”
“Stronger,” “Let It Rock” and “Put On.”
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.
See the original music video for “We Will Rock You”
HERE
“We Will Rock You” is featured on the new Queen Absolute Greatest as well!
You can pick it up at
Best Buy,
The Queen Official Store and on
Amazon (UK)