Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, BMI is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 22.4 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year.
To learn more about BMI and how to become a BMI affiliate, consider attending one ofour upcoming BMI 101 workshops.
Your composition is copyrighted automatically when the work is “created,” which the law defines as being “fixed” in a copy or a recording for the first time. The registration of your copyright is recommended, but not required. BMI does not copyright works for you.
If you choose to copyright your works, which we recommend, visitcopyright.gov or BMI Spark partnerCosynd. Log into yourOLS account to learn more about our Spark program, access Cosynd’s discount, and see other tools and resources to enhance your career.
Please ensure BMI has your correct address by logging onto yourOnline Services account and clicking the “Change of Address” option on the lefthand menu. If the address is outdated, please use that option to update your address.
If your address is correct and you have not received your check two weeks after the distribution date, please contactstatement@bmi.com. Please note that direct deposit payments arrive much quicker, and this payment method can prevent delayed receipt of BMI distributions.
To begin registering your works, log in to yourOnline Services account.
Once submitted online, they will be processed by BMI before appearing in your Works Catalog. Once processed, you will receive an email notification frombmiworksregistration@bmi.com.
Need to update an already registered work?Refer toInstructions for Updating Registered Works
No. BMI relies on the information you provide when registering your song such as title, writer, and artist information. BMI does not need a copy of audio and/or lyrics.
Song registration is simple and can be done online with ouronline song registration program. BMI does not accept uploads of audio files (.MP3 etc) as part of song registrations.
IPI stands for: Interested Parties Information
CAE stands for: Composer, Author and Publisher
The IPI/CAE number is a publicly accessible international identification number used to identify participants on a work. Writers and publishers will be assigned a unique number for each name/AKA on file with BMI. Therefore, writers with multiple names/AKAs will have multiple numbers.
Register your works using the IPI Number associated with the name/AKA you would like to appear on the new work. Regardless of the IPI Number you decide to use, the royalties will all be directed to your BMI account. Please note your BMI account # is not your IPI#. Please do not use a BMI account number as an IPI# when registering a work.
Locate your IPI numbers via Online Services or via Songview.
IPI Numbers are available inOnline Services. Once you log in to your account, clickIPI Number.
If you only have one BMI account, you will be taken directly to your IPI information.
If you have multiple BMI accounts, underMy Accounts, click the name of an account.
In the example below, this person has access to their BMI writer and publisher accounts.
Your Legal Name and any AKAs registered with BMI will be listed on this screen, each with its own unique IPI Number.
The IPI number appears under the column IPI#.
You can update your email address in two ways:
Yes, you can register withPayoneer and use the USD banking information they provide to set up direct deposit through your BMI Online Services account. Royalty payments of $2.00 and above will be paid to your Payoneer account. Please refer to your Payoneer terms and conditions for any fees that may apply.
You may also elect BMI to send payment via wire; however, earnings must reach $250 or above before a quarterly payment is made, or $25 or above in August’s distribution. Please refer to bmi.com underFrequency of Royalty Payments for more information about Accruals. Please see your Bank’s terms and conditions for any fees that may apply. You can request a wire transfer form by emailingInternational@bmi.com.
If you’re a writer who affiliated using our online form, you may find your BMI contract is available in yourOnline Services account.
If you cannot locate your agreement through yourOnline Services account, a copy of your BMI contract can be requested. Download theBMI Document Reproduction Form and follow the instructions. Please note that there is a fee for document reproduction.
Please refer toInstructions for Updating Registered Works for complete instructions to update registered works.
In short, you can email update requests toreviseworks@bmi.com. In your email, be sure to include the title and work number, as well as a clear description of the revision that is being requested. Your request will be reviewed and, if supporting documentation is required before the update can be completed, we’ll email you back with further instructions.
Please note, this is the only way to update an existing work. If you try to register a new version of the same work it will be rejected automatically.
When we find that BMI royalty checks have gone uncashed for an extended period of time, a member may be sent a letter in an attempt to have the checks reissued.
See more info onour Uncashed Royalty Checks page.
BMI licenses many marketplaces and there are several potential answers to this question. However, there are three common reasons you may not have received royalties for certain performances, and those are distribution timelines, works registration status, and distribution thresholds.
BMI’s royalty distributions typically cover performance activity that has taken place 6 to 8 months in the past, so please ensure your inquiry falls within this timeframe. Also, please ensure you are inquiring about a song that you have registered with BMI. You can register works through yourOnline Services account. Once logged into your account, you will find additional information on how to register. Finally, please note that BMI issues royalty payments above certain threshold that vary depending on payment method. For physical checks and international wires, the threshold is $250 dollars. For domestic direct deposit or Payoneer, the threshold is $2.
Information about how BMI royalties are calculated and distributed are available in our Royalty Policy Manual.
BMI knows that our culture is dependent on the creation of intellectual property, specifically, the creation of music. Without copyright protection, songwriters would lose their exclusive performing right, allowing anyone to use their music freely and without payment. That means that most songwriters would not be able to continue their craft, and we would not have the impressive musical culture we have and continue to build.
BMI’s award-winning repertoire includes over 22.4 million musical works created by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers and music publishers. As the global leader in music rights management, BMI advocates for your rights and licenses your music to more than 650,000 businesses.
BMI is dedicated to nurturing and maintaining relationships with music creators. We offer workshops and showcases for emerging talent, access to Spark, a program that offers discounts, special offers, educational and wellness resources and much more, and BMI awards for songwriters and publishers whose public performances are extensive, among many other efforts. It's fast, easy and free to join. Songwriters, publishers and composers can simply click the button below, allowing BMI to represent your music. More information on BMI can be foundin our FAQ section.
