Glassnote Records founder Daniel Glass will receive the special “visionary award” at the SESAC Pop Music Awards, to be held May 13 at the New York Public Library.

In a statement, SESAC pays homage to Glass’ “tireless dedication to songwriters and immeasurable contributions to the music industry,” and notes that the N.Y.-based exec “is being honored for greatly affecting the lives and careers of songwriters.”

Glass launched Glassnote Entertainment Group in 2007, a company which encompasses a record label, publishing business and a merchandising arm. In those years, Glassnote has grown into one of the most important indie music companies in the States, with an enviable roster of artists including Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, Childish Gambino, The Temper Trap, Chvrches and Robert DeLong.

Glass chatted with Billboard.biz about the origins of his company. “We started with two laptops,” he recalled. “It was a Jerry McGuire moment. We had very little money, and I made-believe that we had a big team. We had a bunch of interns. It was very small. Did I know we were going to make it? We had no choice. We had to make it.”

A DJ early in his career, Glass played a part in the careers of Huey Lewis, Billy Idol, Wilson Phillips, Sinead O’Connor, Blur and Vanilla Ice and went on to run major labels.

It’s been a particularly big year for some of Glassnote’s artists — and for its CEO. His acts have won Grammys, Brit Awards, topped the Billboard 200 and owned the buzz at Coachella. Some of the spotlight has shone Glass’ way. At a ceremony in L.A. this May, Musexpo will honor Glass as “international music person of the year.” And back in March, Glass was the guest keynote speaker at a function in Sydney to unveil the winner of the Australian Music Prize.

Glass was ranked No. 11 on The Hollywood Reporter’s list of pop’s 35 top hitmakers and he landed at No. 61 on Billboard’s Power 100 List. [Billboard.biz]