Broadcast Music, Inc. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Broadcast Music, Inc.

Trade name	BMI (1939-present)
Industry	Music
Founded	1939
Headquarters	New York City, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	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. It helps musicians, songwriters, and music publishers get paid when their music is played in public. Imagine a song you love being played on the radio, in a restaurant, or on a TV show. BMI makes sure the people who created that song earn money for their hard work.

BMI collects fees from businesses that use music, like radio stations or online streaming services. These businesses get a "blanket license" from BMI. This license lets them play any song from BMI's huge collection, which has over 22.4 million musical works. Every three months, BMI shares the money it collects. It pays songwriters, composers, and music publishers. These payments are called royalties, and they go to the members whose songs have been performed.

In 2022, BMI collected over $1.5 billion and paid out over $1.4 billion in royalties. BMI works with more than 1.4 million songwriters. It is the biggest organization of its kind in the United States. It is also one of the largest in the world.

BMI works with artists who create music in almost every style. Some famous artists BMI represents include Patti LaBelle, Selena, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Rihanna, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Michael Jackson, and Dolly Parton. They also work with bands like Evanescence, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Linkin Park. Many well-known composers, such as John Williams and Danny Elfman, are also part of BMI.

Since 1961, BMI has helped new musical theater writers. They co-founded the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. This workshop helps people learn how to write songs and stories for musicals. Famous alumni include Alan Menken and Robert Lopez. The workshop has even won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for its great work.

How BMI Started

In the 1930s, radio became very popular. People started listening to music on the radio instead of buying records or going to live shows. This made it harder for artists to earn money. Another organization, ASCAP, was the main group that collected money for artists at the time. ASCAP charged radio stations a lot of money to play music.

In 1939, ASCAP announced they would charge even more. So, a group called the National Association of Broadcasters decided to create BMI. They wanted a cheaper way for radio stations to play music. BMI offered a new choice for everyone who used music.

Most radio stations in the U.S. stopped using ASCAP's music in 1941. They chose to play only music from BMI instead. This created a lot of competition. The government also stepped in. They made sure BMI allowed businesses to pay only for the music they actually used, not just a big "blanket" fee.

BMI wanted to be different from ASCAP. They looked for artists that ASCAP often ignored. This included artists who made blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, gospel, country, folk, Latin, and later, rock and roll. During the 1940s and 1950s, BMI became the main group for country and R&B artists. ASCAP focused more on pop artists. BMI also grew its collection of classical music. Today, it represents many famous classical composers.

In 2017, BMI continued its partnership with C3 Presents. This company produces some of the world's largest music festivals. In 2023, BMI agreed to be bought by a group of investors led by New Mountain Capital.

What BMI Does

BMI gives licenses to many different places that use music. This means they give permission for music to be played. Here are some examples:

• Television and radio stations
• Websites and online music services
• TV networks
• The internet and mobile apps
• Satellite radio, like Sirius XM
• Nightclubs, hotels, bars, and restaurants
• Symphony orchestras and concert bands
• Digital jukeboxes
• Colleges and schools
• Fitness centers
• Live concerts

BMI keeps track of when its 22.4 million songs are played in public. They collect fees from places like radio stations and live venues. After they pay for their own operations, BMI sends out money every three months. This money goes to the songwriters, composers, and music publishers as royalties. BMI has offices in many cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville.

Awards

BMI holds award shows every year. These shows celebrate the songwriters, composers, and music publishers. They honor the most-played songs from BMI's collection. Some of these award shows include:

• 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
• BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards

BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop

In 1961, BMI teamed up with Lehman Engel to start the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Lehman Engel led the workshop until he passed away in 1982. After him, Maury Yeston led it for 23 years. Many new musicals and songs have been created by people who attended this workshop.

The workshop has received special recognition for its work. On May 21, 2006, the Drama Desk gave the BMI Workshop a Special Award. This was for "nurturing, developing and promoting new talent for the musical theater." Later that year, on September 22, 2006, the BMI Workshop also received a Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre. These awards show how important the workshop is for creating new musicals.

See also

In Spanish: Broadcast Music, Inc. para niños

• CISAC
• ASCAP
• BMI Foundation
• Copyright collective
• Recording Academy
• David Sanjek
• Ottalie Mark