March 2010
Seventy years ago, on February 15, 1940, BMI opened its doors and ushered in a new era of opportunity and creativity for songwriters, composers and music publishers. While decades have passed and the cultural and economic landscapes have changed, BMI’s dedication to creating value for America’s songwriters has been unwavering, as we continue to build and nurture a market that respects copyright and values your creativity. With your trust and support, we have been able to successfully represent your rights and protect your revenue streams in the marketplace, the courts, in Washington and in public policy forums around the world.
As the U.S. begins to emerge from the economic crisis that has taken its toll on virtually all sectors of the business community, I take pride in noting that BMI has weathered that storm relatively unscathed. Our strategy to diversify sources of income and fee structures has blunted much of the negative impact of the world’s economic challenges and provided a steady stream of royalties to compensate you for your creative efforts. In this distribution alone we have tracked nearly 13,000 individual sources playing BMI-licensed music.
I am pleased to report that BMI’s Live Pop Concert distribution has been expanded to include 300 events/festivals, and will be paid on a quarterly rather than a semi-annual basis, beginning with the distribution covering the fourth quarter of 2009. For the current distribution only, there are nine months of payments included, covering the period January 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009. For more information regarding Live Pop Concert distributions, please refer to the “How We Pay Royalties” section of BMI.com on the bmi.com home page or contact your writer/publisher relations representative.
We currently face challenges on several fronts, as we continue negotiations and/or legal proceedings with the radio, television and background music industries and monitor developments in Washington that may affect your future royalty streams. From time to time I may ask you to actively participate in the fight to protect your copyrights, and, as we move forward, I hope you will share our optimism for the future and join us in addressing the opportunities that lie ahead in the constantly evolving digital world.
Our congratulations go to Juanes, Espinosa Paz, Hussein Barreras and all those honored at the BMI Latin Awards, held March 4 in Las Vegas. Congratulations also go to T-Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham, whose song “The Weary Kind” from the movie Crazy Heart won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 82nd annual Academy Awards.
With a particularly harsh winter behind us, I hope the spring thaw renews your energy and helps get the creative juices flowing.
Sincerely,
Del Bryant
President
Chief Executive Officer