If you live in the US and wish to receive all of your royalties in accordance with the Music Copyright Laws, you must register with a Performing Rights Organization (PRO). Organizations known as PROs are responsible for paying artists with the royalties they have collected. In the US, there are numerous separate PROs, including BMI Music, ASCAP, and SESAC. Knowing them can help you as an artist select the one that best suits your requirements. Today, we'll discover just what BMI music is and how it functions.
BMI? What's that?
Together with ASCAP and SESAC music, BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) is one of the largest performing rights organizations in the US. If you are familiar with ASCAP or SESAC, then you probably understand the basics of how BMI music works. During the course of more than 80 years, the organization has represented songwriters, music publishers, and composers. It collects licensing payments from companies that wish to utilize music, like television, radio stations, and internet, much like all the other PROs. The same holds true for waiting areas in bars, lodges, eateries, gyms, and medical offices. These payments aren't made to the artists right soon, though. It is the PRO's responsibility to collect the money and then provide the artists their royalties.
BMI & Royalties
There are various types of royalties available in the music industry for copyright owners. The performance royalties must be gathered and distributed by BMI and other PROs. This implies that you do not need to monitor where your music is being played as a musician or copyright holder. Actually, the PROs handle that for you. If you employ BMI, it will be their responsibility to pay you. As a result, BMI will pay you performance royalties anytime your music is played, for example, on radio stations.
For owners of copyright, the music industry offers a variety of payments. BMI and other PROs are required to collect and disburse the performance royalties. This indicates that as an artist or copyright holder, you are not required to keep track of the locations where your music is being played. In r
eality, the PROs take care of that for you. If you hire BMI, they are responsible for paying you. As a result, if your music is played, for instance on major radio stations, BMI will pay you performance royalties.
Joining BMI
You should probably think about joining BMI Music if you have written at least one song. You will thereafter get all royalties for any public performances of your song in this manner. Also, you can register to receive 100% of the royalties as both the publisher and the songwriter of your own music. A further fantastic feature of BMI Music is that, unlike some of the other PROs, signing up as a songwriter is completely free. However, there is a one-time cost of $150 for businesses with just one employee and $250 for larger publishing enterprises to join BMI as a publisher. BMI is a non-profit organization, and roughly 90% of all the money it collects from license fees goes to the artists. Also, BMI works hard to safeguard copyright and see to it that its artists receive all due compensation.
You can arrange for direct deposit through BMI to prevent payment delays. The funds are transferred instantly into your bank account; you don't need to wait for any checks to come. Members of BMI Music also receive discounts on musical instruments, courses, and subscriptions.
Copyrights
You should learn how to copyright music as an artist in addition to understanding how PROs operate. That's crucial because the copyright is not assured even if you register your song with BMI, for instance. Theoretically, your song is copyrighted the moment you finish writing it. There is therefore no additional step that is required. Therefore, we fervently urge you to file a music registration with the U.S. Copyright Office. By doing this, you can ensure that your copyrights are protected and that you retain full ownership of your music. You should also obtain an ISRC code for each song to make it simpler for people to find your music.
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