Composer Atticus Ross to Be Named a BMI Icon at The 2025 BMI Awards

Composer, producer, and recording artist Atticus Ross will be honored with the BMI Icon Award at the 41st Annual BMI Film, TV and Visual Media Awards on May 14th in Beverly Hills, CA. The Academy Award, Golden Globe and GRAMMY Award-winning composer will be receiving this honor for his outstanding body of work across film and television. The ceremony will also salute the composers of the previous year’s top-grossing films, top-rated primetime network television series, and highest-ranking cable and streamed media programs. The evening will be hosted by BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI Vice President, Creative, Film, TV & Visual Media, Tracy McKnight. 

Ross is a multifaceted musician, composer and producer who has garnered widespread acclaim over his decades-long career. Best known for his longstanding collaboration with Trent Reznor, Ross has made a mark on both film and television scoring, and rock music. His work with Reznor has resulted in some of the most memorable film scores of the past decade, including The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl, Waves, Soul, Mank, Bones & All, Empire of Light, Queer and Challengers.

Across their filmography, Reznor and Ross have won two Academy Awards®, a BAFTA Award, three Critics Choice Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and two GRAMMY® Awards, in addition to countless other nominations. Their work in television includes Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s lauded 18-hour documentary The Vietnam War and the Emmy®-winning score to HBO’s Watchmen. Ross is also notable for his collaborations with his brother Leopold Ross and wife Claudia Sarne on movies such as The Book of Eli and Triple 9, and series like Black Mirror and Dear Mama. Most recently, his work on Shōgun alongside Leopold and co-composer Nick Chuba garnered much acclaim, including two Emmy nominations and a GRAMMY® nomination.

Beyond film, Ross is also a prominent figure in the music world as a key member of the band Nine Inch Nails, joining in 2016 as the band’s sole official member alongside founder Trent Reznor. In 2020, Nine Inch Nails were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later this year, the band will embark on a sold-out global arena tour. They are also set to score Disney’s highly anticipated Tron: Ares, their first score under the Nine Inch Nails moniker. In addition to their musical endeavors, Ross and Reznor launched With Teeth, which encompasses film and TV production, products, and a music festival, further expanding their creative influence across various industries.

Ross has won 19 BMI Awards throughout his career for his scores on notable films and TV programs. In receiving this honor, Ross joins a prestigious list of BMI Icon Award recipients including Terence Blanchard, Mychael Danna, Alexandre Desplat, Ramin Djawadi, Harry Gregson-Williams, James Newton Howard, Christopher Lennertz, Thomas Newman, Rachel Portman (PRS), Mike Post, Alan Silvestri, Brian Tyler and John Williams, among others. 

Photo credit: John Crawford