September 2014
Dear Songwriter, Composer and Publisher,
I am pleased to announce that BMI reported record-setting revenues and royalty distributions for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, with total revenues of $977 million, an increase of $33 million over the prior year, and distributed and administered more than $840 million in royalties. Our domestic revenue streams are more diversified than ever before, licensing more than 650,000 businesses, and our international revenue now makes up more than 30% of our total. Although we are extremely proud of these record-breaking results, BMI continues to focus our efforts on advocating for the rights of music creators and copyright owners so that all are fairly compensated for the use of music in every sector, including the digital space.
In furtherance of that effort, on August 6, 2014, BMI submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Justice proposing modifications to the BMI consent decree that would modernize the music licensing landscape, creating a model that reflects fair value for songwriters, composers, publishers and music users in today’s digital marketplace. Many of our songwriters and publishers and industry organizations also submitted their comments in support of BMI’s position, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who did so.
This distribution includes the yearly Sirius XM true-up for 2013, as well as royalties for use of your music on pay-per-view programming, sports leagues, theme parks and cable system programming. In addition, as previously announced, this quarter BMI is introducing a new methodology for the distribution of license fees associated with performances of BMI music on Fox and CW network television programming. This methodology uses state-of-the-art technology to match program performance information from Tribune Media Services to audience measurement data from Nielsen Media Research. It allows BMI to more closely align its royalty payments with the value that individual shows (and the music contained therein) bring to the stations themselves. Royalties earned for your Fox and CW network television performances now appear in the U.S. Television – Networks section of your royalty statement. Please visit our Royalty Policy Manual for more details on these changes.
BMI now administers royalty payments on behalf of certain publishers who entered into direct license agreements with Pandora and iTunes Radio, and these payments, if applicable to you, are displayed in the Administration Services section of your statement.
As previously noted, beginning with this distribution BMI will no longer print and send detailed royalty statements through the mail. However, you can easily access your statement by activating your Online Services account that allows you to manage all of your BMI transactions in one place, which is safer, quicker and greener. If you have not signed up for direct deposit, BMI will continue to mail your royalty checks. To set up your Online Services account, go to our paperless statement support page and complete the requested information. You may also call 615-401-5555 with questions regarding BMI’s paperless initiative.
Congratulations to our Creative Emmy Award winners, Alan Silvestri, David Arnold, Michael Price (PRS) and Tom Kitt. In addition, shout-outs go to our BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Award winners: Songwriter of the Year Lil Wayne, Publisher of the Year Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Producer of the Year DJ Mustard and President’s Award honoree, Ludacris. Next month, we look forward to honoring Sir Tim Rice as our Icon at the BMI London Awards, and in November, we will be proud to name Vince Gill an Icon at the BMI Country Awards.
We also congratulate the dozens of BMI songwriters who performed on our stages during this summer’s most exciting festivals and showcases, including Lollapalooza and Loufest, and the Jake Owen Beach Party, where thousands of fans gathered in BMI Nashville’s back lot to enjoy the show. We hope your summer has been as productive as ours has been at the many events during which BMI proudly showcased your music.
As we approach the 75th anniversary of BMI’s creation on October 14, we renew our commitment to stay true to our original mission set forth in 1939: to provide businesses with a robust and competitive source of licensing, while supporting the creators who deliver the world’s most compelling music.
Sincerely,
Mike O'Neill
President and Chief Executive Officer
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