FAQ: My Account

BMI members can avoid any delay in receiving royalty payments by signing up for either Direct Deposit to their bank account or "The Card," which allows songwriters and composers who do not currently have a bank account to enjoy the advantages of an ATM card for access to their BMI royalties.

Both Direct Deposit and "The Card" offer instant access to your royalty payments without the worry of waiting for checks to arrive, cashing them or misplacing them. When signing up for these benefits, you can also help us in our efforts to "go green" by choosing to receive your royalty statement electronically. Applications for these programs are available within Online Services.

If you have already created an online account, you can login to Online Services.

Need to create an account? It's easy: Select "Create your account" from BMI's Online Services menu on the left side of your screen and follow the directions.

Forgotten your username or password? Just visit the login page and follow the "Forgot Username/Password" procedure.

Your BMI account number can be found on either of the following:

• BMI Contract
• BMI Royalty Statement

If you do not have your BMI contract or a recent BMI royalty statement, please contact your regional BMI Writer/Publisher Relations department and ask for help retrieving your account number.

To request copies of your BMI contract download the BMI Document Reproduction Form and follow the instructions.

Please note that there is a fee for document reproduction. Royalty statements and your full works catalog are available online in our Online Services area.

No, that's part of BMI's function. If your songs are registered with BMI and you are receiving radio play, then BMI will get that information.

For detailed information on our payment methodology, visit our Royalty Information section.

No. BMI relies on the information you provide when you register your work and does not need an actual copy of your song.

Song registration is simple and can be done online with our online song registration program.

The most efficient way to register your song with BMI is through your online account. Songs (or works) registered online are available in BMI's Repertoire Catalog almost immediately.

(You may also use the downloadable work registration form.)

In order to make changes to a work that you've already registered, please review our Instructions for Updating Registered Works page.

If you have moved, it is important that you update your address. You can change your both your postal address and your email address online within your Online Services account. See more information on updating your address.

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 wish to copyright your works, which we recommend, visit copyright.gov.

The IPI/CAE number is an international identification number assigned to songwriters and publishers to uniquely identify rights holders. This is a separate number from the BMI account number.

IPI stands for: Interested Parties Information

CAE stands for: Composer, Author and Publisher

BMI writers may learn IPI/CAE number belonging to them or their co-writers by viewing their online works catalog and clicking through to the detail on an individual work.

IPI/CAE numbers are also available in the BMI repertoire song search.

The most efficient way to register your song (or work) with BMI is through your online account. Songs registered online are available in BMI's Repertoire Catalog almost immediately.

(You may also use the downloadable work registration form.)

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 on our Uncashed Royalty Checks page.