June 2006
Dear Songwriter, Composer and Publisher:
I am extremely pleased to report that, as part of our efforts to provide you with the most timely and efficient royalty distributions available, BMI’s quarterly royalty payments are now being made three weeks earlier than in previous years, with the exception of the January distribution. We have also eliminated the time lag between songwriter/composer and publisher distributions, with royalty mailings for both groups now being made on the same day. Please remember to take advantage of our free direct-deposit services, which offer instant access to your royalty payments without the worry of waiting for checks to arrive, cashing them or misplacing them. An application for direct deposit is available on bmi.com.
I am also pleased to report that BMI has reached a final agreement on per-program and/or blanket license fees with the ESPN Networks, covering the period from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2009. Royalty payments from this agreement will be made in future distributions as license fees are collected.
On the legislative front, the $70 billion tax-cut extension package passed by Congress on May 11 contains an important capital gains tax break for songwriters. The break, seen as a major legislative gain, means that songwriters will be able to treat the sale of their song catalogs as capital gains instead of as income. Before the bill’s passage, only music publishers were eligible for the capital gains tax rate when they sell their portion of a song catalog, while songwriters were required to pay the higher ordinary income tax rates on their share of the same sale. We’d like to thank the Nashville Songwriters Assn. International (NSAI), which, with the support of BMI and other industry groups, spearheaded the legislation, spending five years putting together relationships with lawmakers in the House and Senate, and convincing them that the change was needed.
Our congratulations go to Bob Gaudio, Bob Crewe and Marshall Brickman, whose songs and story are the heart and soul of Jersey Boys, winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical. Congratulations also to Crosby, Stills & Nash, Maroon 5, Lil John, EMI Music Publishing, Harry Gregson-Williams, Earle Hagen and all those honored at the BMI Pop and Film/TV Awards, held last month in Los Angeles.
Sincerely,
Del Bryant
President
Chief Executive Officer