BMI

BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) is a for-profit performing rights organization based in Nashville, Tennessee, that licenses the public performance rights of over 1.2 million songwriters, composers, and publishers. It collects fees from radio stations, streaming services, TV networks, venues, and businesses, then distributes those fees as royalties to its affiliates on a quarterly basis.

How BMI Works

BMI issues blanket licenses to businesses that play music publicly. These include radio stations, television networks, streaming platforms, restaurants, retail stores, concert venues, and bars. A blanket license gives the licensee access to BMI's entire catalog of over 22 million musical works for a single fee.

BMI distributes royalties quarterly, in January, April, July, and October. Payments typically lag 6 to 9 months behind the actual performances. BMI tracks usage data from radio logs, TV cue sheets, streaming reports, and live performance set lists submitted through its BMI Live program.

Songwriter membership is free. Publisher registration costs a one-time fee of approximately $150. There are no annual dues. BMI operates under a federal antitrust consent decree, which means its rates are subject to review by a US rate court if negotiations with licensees fail.

In August 2025, BMI reached a landmark settlement with the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) covering the 2022 to 2029 period. Radio stations will pay 2.14% of gross revenue for 2022 and 2023, 2.26% for 2024, 2.19% for 2025, and 2.20% for 2026 through 2029. This represents the largest rate increase in BMI's history, up from the previous rate of approximately 1.7%. The settlement is applied retroactively, with stations making up the difference through monthly payments starting in October 2025.

BMI collects approximately $1.6 billion in royalties annually. The organization has historically strong ties to country, gospel, R&B, and hip-hop music communities, though its catalog covers all genres.

Real-World Example

A songwriter registers with BMI for free and uploads 10 songs through BMI's Songfile system. One of those songs gets played on a commercial radio station 500 times in a quarter. The station pays BMI a blanket license fee calculated as 2.20% of its gross revenue (under the 2026 to 2029 rate). BMI logs those 500 performances through its monitoring system. The songwriter receives a proportional share of the quarterly royalty pool, paid the following quarter (6 to 9 months after the actual airplay).

If the songwriter also performs those songs at a licensed venue, they can submit set lists through BMI Live to collect additional live performance royalties. A songwriter with 50 logged performances at a venue in a given quarter receives a payment based on the venue's license fee and the number of works performed.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you write songs that are performed publicly (on radio, TV, streaming, or in live venues), BMI collects royalties you would otherwise never receive. Membership is free for songwriters, which removes the upfront cost barrier that ASCAP's $50 fee creates.

Register every composition with BMI as soon as it is commercially released. Unregistered works earn zero royalties, even if they receive thousands of plays. You must also register a publishing entity (for $150) if you want to collect the publisher's share of performance royalties, not just the writer's share.

You can only belong to one US PRO at a time. If your music leans toward country, R&B, hip-hop, or gospel, BMI's monitoring systems have historically tracked those genres well. Compare BMI and ASCAP based on your genre, budget, and payment schedule preferences, then pick one and register immediately.

Related Resources

• Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) - What a PRO is and how it functions
• Performance Royalties - How performance royalties are generated and collected
• Blanket License - The licensing model used by BMI and other PROs
• Mechanical Royalties - Understanding the difference between performance and mechanical royalties
• PRO Comparison Guide - Detailed comparison of ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC
• How to Register Music with a PRO - Step-by-step registration guide
• BMI Official Website - Visit BMI to learn about membership and licensing
• Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate your digital performance earnings