The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online virtual museum, striving toward that goal.[1] It has an office in New York City, United States, and holds workshops, showcases, and provides scholarships to promising artists to help develop new songwriting talent.
New inductees are voted on annually. Alongside the induction of new songwriters are a variety of special awards. Currently, the awards include the "Hal David Starlight Award" (for young artists who have already made an impression on the music industry), the "Johnny Mercer Award" (for artists who are already in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and have a number of outstanding works), the "Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award" (an award given to songwriters who have done a lot to increase the success of songs), "Abe Olman Publisher Award" (awarded to publishers who have had a lot of "famous" pieces) and the "Towering Song/Towering Performance" Awards.
Through 2010, 383 individuals had been inducted into the SHOF. The British rock band Queen was the first band to be inducted in 2003.[2][3]