The Society for American Music (SAM) was founded in 1975 and was first named the Sonneck Society in honor of Oscar George Theodore Sonneck, early Chief of the Music Division in the Library of Congress and pioneer scholar of American music.
The Society for American Music is a non-profit scholarly and educational organization incorporated in the District of Columbia as a 501 (c) (3) and is a constituent member of the American Council of Learned Societies.
The Society holds an annual conference, usually in March, featuring scholarly talks, exhibits, and performances.
From 1983 through 2006, the Society had published the journal American Music in collaboration with the University of Illinois Press.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented by the Society "in recognition of the recipient's significant and substantial lifetime achievement in scholarship, performance, teaching, and/or support of American Music.