Ariana Grande, ‘Frozen’ Soundtrack, Dee Snider, Paul Rodgers to Be Honored at YouTube Sponsored Awards Luncheon

April 29, 2014 – The Music Business Association (Music Biz), formerly known as NARM and digitalmusic.org, will celebrate chart-topping pop star and actress Ariana Grande, the record-breaking soundtrack to Oscar-winning animated film Frozen, the philanthropic work of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, and the lifetime of creative contributions of artist Paul Rodgers at the Music Biz 2014 Awards Luncheon on May 8 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Sponsored by YouTube, the event will feature the presentation of the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award to Grande, a special Outstanding Achievement Award to the Frozen soundtrack, the Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award to Snider, and the Chairman’s Award for Sustained Creative Achievement to Rodgers.

“We’re extremely excited to have such a diverse slate of award winners this year,” said James Donio, President of Music Biz. “We’re also thrilled to have YouTube join our sponsorship ranks to help us recognize these remarkable accomplishments.”

“I’m pleased to join Music Biz in honoring the achievements of Ariana Grande, Frozen, Dee Snider, and Paul Rodgers,” said Fred Beteille, Product Manager at YouTube and Music Biz Board Member. “This event celebrates what’s so exciting about the music industry: from new talent to enduring careers, from chart-busting hits to remarkable philanthropy, and I’m proud to support it.”

Grande, who stars in the hit Nickelodeon TV shows Sam & Cat and Victorious, will be recognized for her blazing entrance into the music world this year with debut album Yours Truly, which reached #1 on the Billboard charts in its first week of availability and spawned the double-Platinum, Top 10 single “The Way” featuring Mac Miller. She performed her new single “Problem,” featuring Iggy Azalea, for the first time on April 27 at the Radio Disney Awards, and it is now available for purchase.

The Frozen soundtrack will be acknowledged for its record-breaking stay on the charts, selling 2.3 million copies so far in the U.S. to hit #1 for 11 non-consecutive weeks, overtaking The Lion King for most weeks at the top by any animated film soundtrack. It is also the longest-reigning album since Adele’s 21 in 2011 and 2012. Meanwhile, the film is now the highest-grossing animated film of all time, with more than $1.1 billion in revenue worldwide.

Snider will be honored for his extensive philanthropic work, including efforts on behalf of Long Island Cares Inc., for which he organizes the annual Dee Snider’s Ride motorcycle event; the Jam for Autism, which he organized in 2012 to benefit the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center’s special needs program; the March of Dimes, where he served for several years as the Grand Marshal of the famed Bikers for Babies ride and donated his earnings from The Celebrity Apprentice; and the Gibson Girl Foundation and Station Family Fund, for which he performed at benefit concerts.

Rodgers will be recognized for his major contributions to rock and roll as a member of Bad Company, for which he helped write four multi-Platinum albums; Free, for which he wrote the classic rock mainstay “All Right Now”; and The Firm, a group he formed with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, as well as his continued success as a solo artist with The Royal Sessions, which was released in January 2014 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart in the U.S. Lead single “Can’t Stand the Rain” reached #3 on the FMQB A/C Radio Chart and “I Thank You” went to #1 for three weeks on the Classic Rock Chart. Internationally, the album reached #2 on the Blues chart and the Top 100 in Australia, the Top 50 in the U.K., and the Top 30 in Japan. He also teamed with the surviving members of Queen in 2004, completing two world tours and releasing the album The Cosmos Rocks in 2008 as Queen + Paul Rodgers.