June 2010
Dear Songwriter, Composer and Publisher:
On May 17, 2010, BMI moved its New York headquarters to 7 World Trade Center, one of the most technologically sophisticated, environmentally friendly and highly secure buildings in New York City. Our new state-of-the-art facility is conveniently located in the heart of downtown Manhattan near transportation hubs served by multiple subway and surface transit lines.
We were able to secure space in New York’s first certified “green” building during a buyer’s market for real estate in Manhattan, and negotiated a long-term sub-lease at a cost well below going rates. The area is rapidly becoming one of New York’s most vibrant growth centers, spurred by significant tax incentives and benefits. The neighborhood is home to top-tier firms in the financial and creative services industries.
I am confident that this move will allow us to offer you an even higher level of service and drive future growth in a highly efficient and cost-effective environment.
Our excitement about the move has been somewhat tempered by the effects of the unprecedented flooding in the Nashville area. I speak to people from the area daily and am stunned by the enormity of this disaster. I understand that many members of the BMI family have suffered varying degrees of loss and know that it will take some time for you, your friends and neighbors to recover. To aid recovery efforts, BMI has partnered with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to create the BMI Flood Relief Fund, a donation-matching program within which BMI will match up to $50,000 of contributions from individuals and businesses. BMI has also donated an additional $50,000 to the Community Foundation to assist with the organization’s immediate recovery work.
Late in 2009, Victoria Espinel was appointed as the first U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC). As her first order of business, Ms. Espinel is focusing on writing and implementing a Joint Strategic Plan as part of a concerted effort to support and increase the revenues and jobs associated with U.S. intellectual property. BMI was invited to a series of meetings at The White House to discuss critical issues regarding international copyright enforcement policy and submitted a written response the IPEC’s request for comments.
BMI will continue to meet with the administration and will participate with other copyright groups in the effort to ensure that the global government policy considers and protects the interests of BMI songwriters and music publishers. The complete BMI IPEC filing is available for download at www.bmi.com/ipec.
Please note that this distribution includes retroactive Internet royalties for YouTube and MySpace. The single line-item payments for YouTube royalties cover prior periods in addition to your current-period royalties, while the single line-item payments for MySpace royalties cover prior periods only.
We hope those of you with the latest generation of mobile devices will take advantage of the mobile version of our award-winning website, BMI.com, which gives our songwriters, composers and music publishers secure account access to their royalty statements and catalog of musical works via their smart phones. An additional web-based tool now allows you to sign up online for direct deposit of your royalties, which provides you with instant access to your royalty payments without the worry of waiting for checks to arrive, cashing them or misplacing them.
Our congratulations go to John Fogerty, RedOne, Taylor Swift, Rachel Portman, Terence Blanchard and all those honored at the BMI Pop and Film/TV Awards, held last month in Los Angeles.
As we enter the summer months, I hope your latest creative efforts are as hot as the season’s weather.
Sincerely,
Del Bryant
President
Chief Executive Officer