U.S. Television Royalties

Types of Uses

BMI categorizes broadcast television and cable television performances as listed below and derives a census of program information from music cue sheets and performance information provided to BMI by BMI television licensees, the TV Data Corporation, and other qualified sources.

Feature Performance

A performance of a work which is the focus of audience attention at the time of the broadcast. These works properly are noted on the music cue sheet with one of the following codes:

• Visual Vocal (VV) - to be used when the vocalist is on camera singing the song
• Visual Instrumental (VI) - to be used when the instrumentalist is on camera performing the song

Background Performance

A performance of a work (or works) used as dramatic underscore to a scene where the music is not the focus of audience attention yet nonetheless is used to set the mood of the scene. These usually are works commissioned especially for a TV program or motion picture, or are library works selected by a program producer in lieu of specially commissioned music. These works generally are of a background instrumental nature and properly are noted on cue sheets with a use code of "BI." A performance of a song where the lyrics are audible to the listening audience, even though there may be some dialogue in the foreground of the scene, is a background vocal performance and properly is noted on cue sheets as "BV".

Theme Performance

A performance of a work which is regularly associated with a television program and identifies that program to the viewer when used as the opening and/or closing music. Theme credit is given only when a work is used in multiple episodes of a television program. Works, other than the theme as described above, used at the opening and/or closing of an individual episode of a series will be credited in accordance with their actual use (feature or background).

Logo Performance

A performance of music regularly accompanying the visual identification of a production company or program distributor.

Paid Programming Performance

Music performed in a long-form advertisement, the content of which often includes a product demonstration and invites direct consumer response.

The rates for feature, background, theme and logo performances on Local Television are indicated on the rate table below. Music performed within paid programming will be paid at one-third of the otherwise applicable rate listed.

Promotional Announcement and Commercial Jingle Performance

A promotional announcement (promo) is an announcement that advertises an upcoming program on television or radio. The programming being promoted must be aired on the same network or station as the promo itself.

BMI pays for music used in promotional announcements aired on ABC, CBS, Fox, The CW and NBC. Payments are calculated based upon the time of day of the performance, and the rate of payment varies from quarter to quarter depending upon the number of promotional announcements aired in a given quarter. At this time, no payment is made for promotional announcements on any other medium.

A commercial jingle is a work (either pre-existing or specifically written for an advertiser) used to advertise products and/or services for sale on television and radio.

Payment is made for feature performances of commercial jingles on broadcast and cable networks, local television and radio. Royalties are paid for background performances only on ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC. In both cases, rates vary from quarter to quarter depending on the number of commercials aired in a given quarter.

For more information about rates and the documentation required to become eligible for payment of Promo and Commercial Jingle royalties, please contact the BMI TV Operations Department at 10 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203, or by telephone at 615-401-5406 or 615-401-5527. The fax number is 615-401-5420. You may also send emails to for both commercial and promo questions.

Network Television

BMI currently licenses the ABC, CBS and NBC television networks under agreements where the fee to cover music used in network originating programming is paid for by the network instead of by the local TV station carrying the program. Performances of music on these networks are listed separately on your royalty statements.

Other television "networks," such as Fox, The CW and Ion, are not currently licensed by BMI as networks. The license fees associated with performances of music in the programming carried by these networks are paid by the individual local stations broadcasting the programs and are subject to Local Television royalty payment rules.

For performances of music in the BMI repertoire that occur on the ABC, CBS and NBC television networks on or before September 30, 2007, royalties will be paid according to the following rules:

Below are the applicable rates for performances on licensed networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC). These rates reflect the intitial starting point of the royalty calculation. These rates are NOT the maximum or minimum rates available which may be ultimately paid by BMI. When BMI computes royalties earned by a single performance, we multiply the indicated rates by the number of local stations carrying the network broadcast.

* Performances of less than 45 seconds are paid on a prorata basis.

For performances of music in the BMI repertoire that occur on the ABC, CBS, NBC and Univision television networks from October 1, 2007 forward, royalties will be paid according to the following rules:

Network Television royalty payments are based upon the license fees that BMI collects from each individual network. Royalty payment rates will vary from quarter to quarter depending upon the amount of the license fees allocated to each quarter determined by using television audience measurement data provided by Nielsen Media Research. In addition, the rates may fluctuate from quarter to quarter depending upon the total performances of music in the BMI repertoire for each quarter's TV Network distribution.

Under the BMI TV Network payment system, performances of music can become eligible for up to three distinct royalty payment components each quarter. They are called the CURRENT ACTIVITY PAYMENT, the SUPER USAGE PAYMENT and the THEME MUSIC BONUS.

The Current Activity Payment

All music in the BMI repertoire that is performed on licensed networks is eligible for a Current Activity Payment. BMI calculates a unique royalty rate for each performance, which is based upon the license fees available for the quarter in combination with the duration of the performance, the weighted royalty value for each usage type and television audience measurement data provided by Nielsen Media Research for each program aired on that network. For example, if your music was performed during a network program on Monday, October 1, 2007 at 9:00 PM, its unique rate is calculated using the television audience measurement data for that unique network program. The royalty values for all types of performances (theme, feature, background, underscore and logo) that were reported to BMI on network television program cue sheets are weighted by BMI with each type having a unique valuation. The substantial majority of the amount available for distribution each quarter is used to make Current Activity Payments.

Super Usage Payment

Due to their extended continuous duration, certain types of performances may qualify for a Super Usage Payment. Performances of songs (Background Vocal, Visual Instrumental and Visual Vocal usages) with a continuous duration of one minute or greater are designated as Super Usages. The royalty rate for these performances is higher than those of a feature performance with duration of less than one minute.

Theme Music Bonus Payment

Due to the highly recognizable nature of network television theme music performances, certain theme music may qualify for a Theme Music Bonus Payment. Theme music with at least 2,000 quarterly network performances is eligible for the bonus payment. When a particular theme qualifies for the bonus payment, all other theme music associated with that program automatically qualifies for the bonus payment. BMI allocates a portion of the amount available for distribution each quarter for each licensed television network to the Theme Music Bonus, and each eligible performance receives a pro-rata portion of the Theme Music Bonus allocation according to the actual number of its quarterly performances. As a result, themes with higher current quarter performance counts earn larger Theme Music Bonus royalties than those themes with lower current quarter performance counts.

Local Television

Currently BMI licenses over 1100 local television stations on a "blanket" or "per-program" basis. A blanket licensee pays a single fee that covers the performance of any BMI-licensed work in the licensee's syndicated and locally-originated programs (including those carrying Fox, The CW and Ion programming). A per-program licensee pays a fee to BMI only when there is BMI music used in films or other audio-visual works or on a syndicated or locally originating program broadcast on the station, as well as for certain incidental and ambient uses of music.

For distribution purposes, BMI separates fees derived from blanket licensees and per-program licensees. Royalty rates for TV Performances occurring on stations choosing a blanket license are weighted in order to reflect the license fees paid by a station or group of stations. The Local Television Rates below reflect the initial starting point of the royalty calculation. These rates are NOT the maximum or minimum rates available which may be ultimately paid by BMI. TV Local blanket royalty rates are calculated based on license fee revenue received from the station(s) airing BMI music and by applying the relationships between the various use types, i.e. feature, theme, background, etc., as indicated below. Performances of music on stations opting for a per-program license are credited by calculating the fee associated with the individual program and applying the relationships between the various use types, i.e. feature, theme, background, etc. Fees collected from per-program stations are distributed only to those songwriters, composers and publishers whose music is used on the programs for which the fees are paid, less an administrative charge.

Local Television Rates @ 200%

* Performances of less than 45 seconds are paid on a prorata basis.

Public Television (PBS)

BMI receives compulsory license fees for performances of music on public broadcasting stations and distributes the fees derived from this source to those songwriters, composers and publishers whose music is broadcast on public TV stations. Rates vary from quarter to quarter depending on the amount of the license fee collected and the base value of BMI performances tabulated during a quarter. The value of a performance on a PBS station could be higher or lower than the Local Television Daypart A rates, depending on the factors noted above. The methodology and relative weightings of the Local Television rates are used to begin the calculation.

Cable Television

BMI collects license fees from both pay cable networks (e.g., HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, etc.) and basic cable networks ( e.g., MTV, USA Network, Lifetime, Discovery Network, VH-1, GSN, etc.). Because the list of cable licensees changes from quarter to quarter, they are not included in this booklet. Please contact your local Writer/Publisher Relations office if you have a question about the licensing status of a particular cable network.

A census of programming information for cable TV is provided to BMI by outside sources such as the TV Data Corporation, and cue sheets for the programs are collected from many sources, including, but not limited to, cable networks and program producers and distributors. Royalty rates are determined each quarter by applying the amount of license fees collected from each cable network (less an administrative fee) against the payable performances occurring on that network, using the methodology and relative weightings of the Local Television rates as a starting point.