Broadcast Music, Inc. facts for kids
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Trade name
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BMI (1939-present) |
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| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Headquarters | New York City, U.S. |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Michael O'Neill (President & CEO) |
| Products | Music performance blanket licenses |
| Services | Distributing performance royalties |
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a special organization in the United States that helps musicians and songwriters. Think of them as a helper that makes sure artists get paid when their music is played in public. Businesses like radio stations, TV shows, and even restaurants pay BMI a fee. This fee allows them to play any song from BMI's huge collection of over 22 million songs!
BMI then takes this money and gives it to the songwriters, composers, and music publishers whose songs were used. They do this every three months. This money is called "royalties," and it's how artists earn a living from their music.
In 2022, BMI collected over $1.5 billion and gave out more than $1.4 billion in royalties. BMI works with over 1.4 million songwriters and has a collection of 22.4 million songs. It's the biggest organization of its kind in the United States and one of the largest in the world!
BMI works with artists from almost every type of music. Some famous artists they represent include Patti LaBelle, Selena, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Rihanna, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, J Balvin, Michael Jackson, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton. They also work with bands like Evanescence, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, and Twenty One Pilots. Plus, they represent composers who write music for movies and shows, such as John Williams and Danny Elfman.
In 1961, BMI helped start the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. This workshop helps new writers create amazing musical theater shows. Many famous people who write musicals, like Alan Menken and Robert Lopez, learned their skills there. The workshop has even won special awards for its contributions to musical theater.
Contents
BMI's Story
How BMI Started
In the 1930s, radio became very popular for listening to music. This made people worry that fewer records would be sold, and live music shows might suffer. Another organization, ASCAP, was the main group that collected money for music played. ASCAP asked radio stations to pay a fixed percentage of their earnings, no matter how much music they played from ASCAP's collection.
In 1939, ASCAP announced they would ask for a lot more money. Because of this, the National Association of Broadcasters (who represent radio stations) decided to create BMI. Their goal was to offer a cheaper choice for playing music. BMI helped create competition, giving music users another option.
Growing and Helping New Artists
Most U.S. radio stations and all three big radio networks decided not to renew their ASCAP licenses in 1941. Instead, they chose to play only music from BMI's collection. This was a big moment for BMI!
Because they were competing with ASCAP, BMI looked for artists that ASCAP often ignored. BMI also bought the rights to many song collections from smaller music companies. They offered a new way to pay songwriters and publishers: a set fee for each time a song was played. This was different from ASCAP's system, which sometimes paid less to newer artists.
Because of this, BMI became the first organization in the U.S. to represent songwriters of blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, gospel, country, folk, Latin, and eventually, rock and roll music. These were often types of music that ASCAP didn't focus on. During the 1940s and 1950s, BMI was the main group for country and R&B artists. BMI also grew its collection of classical music. Today, they represent many famous classical composers, including winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
In November 2023, a group of investors led by New Mountain Capital agreed to buy BMI.
How BMI Works
Who Uses BMI's Music?
BMI gives licenses (permission to play music) to many different types of music users. These include:
- TV and radio stations
- Websites and online music services
- Cable networks
- Satellite radio (like Sirius XM)
- Nightclubs, hotels, bars, and restaurants
- Symphony orchestras and concert bands
- Digital jukeboxes
- Colleges and schools
- Fitness centers
- Live concerts
Getting Paid for Music
BMI keeps track of when its 22.4 million songs are played in public. They collect the fees from businesses that use music, like radio stations and live venues. After they cover their own costs for running the organization, BMI gives the rest of the money to its member songwriters, composers, and music publishers. They do this every three months, using a special formula to figure out how much each person gets.
BMI has offices in several cities, including Atlanta, London, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Austin, and Washington, D.C.
BMI Awards
BMI holds award shows every year to celebrate the songwriters, composers, and music publishers who created the most-played songs in their collection. Some of these award shows include the BMI Latin Awards, BMI Pop Awards, BMI Film & TV Awards, BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, BMI London Awards, BMI Country Awards, BMI Christian Awards, and the BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards.
See also
In Spanish: Broadcast Music, Inc. para niños
- ASCAP
- BMI Foundation
- BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop
- Copyright collective
- Recording Academy
