The Songwriters Hall of Fame made a significant announcement on Wednesday, January 17, revealing Timbaland as one of its esteemed inductees for 2024.
This year’s class also includes known figures like Steely Dan, Hillary Lindsey, Dean Pitchford, and R.E.M. Nile Rodgers, the chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, emphasized the vital role of songwriters in the music industry, stating, “I’ve said it before, but the music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first. Without them, there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch… nothing.”
“It all starts with the song and the songwriter. We are, therefore, very proud to continually recognize some of the culturally most important songwriters of all time. The 2024 slate represents not just iconic songs but also diversity and unity across genres, ethnicity, and gender—songwriters who have enriched our lives and literally enriched music and the lives of billions of listeners all over the world.”
Among the illustrious past inductees are Timbaland’s longtime collaborators, Missy Elliott and Jay-Z. Speaking to CBS, the hitmaking producer expressed his surprise at being selected for the Songwriters Hall of Fame, saying, “It kinda caught me off guard because, you know, for me, I don’t ever look at my work to be put up on a pedestal.”
“I just love to keep working and doing what God gave me the gift to do. It was kinda like caught off by surprise, and I was like, ‘Oh wow!’ Because, to be honest with you, when years go by as you get older, you don’t really never think—I never thought that was recognized like this. I know what I mean to the world, but sometimes you just never think that you’re gonna get such an accolade such as this.”
Timbaland is set to be formally inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the 2024 Induction and Awards Gala scheduled for June 13. The prestigious event will take place at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.
