Tradition

BMI’s formation provided an “open door” to writers of all genres of music, many of whom had no prior access to performing right representation.

Formed in 1939 as a non-profit-making performing right organization, BMI was the first to offer representation to songwriters of blues, country, jazz, r&b, gospel, folk, Latin and, ultimately, rock & roll.

BMI was founded by radio executives to provide competition in the field of performing rights, to assure royalty payments to writers and publishers of music not represented by the existing performing right organization and to provide an alternative source of licensing for all music users.

BMI’s history coincides with one of the most vibrant, evolving and challenging periods in music history. As popular music has moved from big-band to rock & roll and hip-hop, and formats have evolved from 78 and 33 1/3-rpm vinyl records to compact discs, MP3s and beyond, BMI has worked on behalf of its members to maintain a leadership position not only in the United States, but worldwide.

Underlying everything BMI does is its philosophy: an open-door policy that welcomes songwriters, composers and music publishers of all disciplines, and helps them develop both the creative and business skills crucial to a career in music.

BMI represents more than 500,000 songwriters, composers, and publishers with more than 7.5 million works.

Terms of use | Privacy policy | Songwriter101 | RSS |

Copyright 1994-2012, Broadcast Music, Inc. unless otherwise specified.
BMI®, BMI.com® and Broadcast Music, Inc.® are registered trademarks of Broadcast Music, Inc.