January 2010
Dear Songwriter, Composer and Publisher:
As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, I take great pride in noting that your creative efforts have been the driving force behind BMI’s steady growth during the past 10 years, as they have throughout our history. While the overall U.S. economy has remained stagnant over the past decade, with gross domestic product increasing by less than 20 percent and household net worth declining by 4 percent, BMI’s revenues have grown by more than 80 percent and royalty payments have increased by almost 90 percent. This is a powerful validation of the important role that music and the creative process play in our economy and a testament to your dedication in providing a continuing stream of new music for audiences all over the world.
In an important development, BMI and DMX are about to enter the trial phase of their rate court proceeding to determine adjustable blanket-license fees for the DMX commercial background music service for the period from June 2005 forward. The case arises from the parties’ dispute regarding the terms of a license that would credit DMX for performances of directly licensed musical works. An interim license fee was established in December 2008, and final fees should be determined this year.
BMI is seeking a substantial increase over the fees that DMX had been paying prior to the litigation under a 20 year old rate agreement, which would bring DMX’s fees more in line with the fees paid to BMI from 2004 to 2009 by industry leaders Muzak, PlayNetwork and Music Choice.
Your enclosed royalty statement indicates no compensation due you in cases where DMX’s public performances of your musical works were covered by a direct license of which BMI has been made aware. If your music publisher/administrator directly licensed your public performing right in your musical work, you should look to your publisher for royalties for those performances. In this case, the line item under DMX will indicate a “0” for performances and royalties. Please note that your affiliation agreement requires you, the writer or publisher, to notify BMI on a timely basis of any direct license(s) you enter into concerning works in the BMI repertoire. We strongly encourage writers or publishers who directly license a work to notify each other of such actions.
BMI’s industry-leading technology enables us to report on and distribute royalties for performances of your songs with greater granularity than ever before. Beginning with performances that took place during the second quarter of 2009, your royalty statement includes an allocation for short-duration detections of your BMI repertoire. Short-duration detections represent performances of your songs that aired for less than 60 seconds. BMI uses data provided by Landmark Digital Services to provide you with a comprehensive accounting of how your songs are used by U.S. commercial radio stations monitored by BMI/Landmark on a census basis 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These performances will be detailed under the heading of “U.S. Performances-Other Sources.”
I’d like to remind you that you can avoid any delay in receiving royalty payments by signing up for either Direct Deposit to your 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. Applications for both programs are available on bmi.com.
Our congratulations go to Taylor Swift, Kanye West, the Black Eyed Peas and all those nominated for this year’s Grammy Awards, scheduled for January 31 in Los Angeles.
I hope your holiday season was joyous and I wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy New Year.
Sincerely,
Del Bryant
President
Chief Executive Officer