March 2013
Dear Songwriter, Composer and Publisher:
Throughout BMI’s nearly 75 years of representing writers and publishers, we have seen many challenges in our industry that have created complexities, but also created opportunities for BMI to secure reliable and fair compensation for music creators. Now is one of those times.
I’m happy to report that BMI’s revenue growth in key sectors has restored its upward trend putting us back on track to surpass last year despite revenue setbacks due to the economy as reflected in our recent settlement with the radio industry. Our foreign revenues also continue to climb, reaching record levels and making our international distribution for this quarter the largest in BMI’s history. We will also record the highest digital revenues in our history this year. Please also note that in addition to your regular quarterly royalties, this distribution also includes AOL settlement royalties for certain performances during the period 2007 – 2011.
In addition to this news, you may have also seen recent articles in the press that have covered publisher withdrawal of catalogs from performing rights organizations for certain limited digital uses. These publishers believe they may obtain higher royalty rates if they negotiate their own agreements outside of the constraints of the major Performing Rights Organizations’ (PROs) Consent Decrees with the United States Government. These Consent Decrees place legal obligations on PROs to license all similarly situated businesses in the same fashion, without denying a license to any business that requests one. For more information on digital withdrawal, please see my letter to the industry which is posted on BMI.com at http://www.bmi.com/openletter.
Although the issues surrounding withdrawal are complex, we see opportunities. First, any increased fees negotiated by publishers for performing rights are clear indicators of the enhanced value that music brings to our licensees. We believe ALL songwriters and ALL publishers should benefit from this enhanced value. We will encourage our licensees and the BMI Rate Court to meet these new benchmarks of music’s value in a competitive marketplace. As evidenced by our new administration relationship with Sony ATV and EMI, withdrawal also creates an opportunity for BMI to service the agreements between publishers and digital services, thereby ensuring that our writers continue to receive public performance royalties through their trusted broker: BMI.
To mark these milestones, it is appropriate that we have launched a new corporate positioning campaign to convey our heritage as a leading performing rights organization committed to innovation, valuing music and managing the rights associated with it now and into the future. The creative elements of the campaign reflect our enduring commitment to music publishers and creators from BMI’s inception. All three slogans; Write On, Powered By, and Valuing Music Since 1939, underscore the Company’s values and contributions to the industry. The campaign logo represents the spark of creativity, a play on the original logo of the 1940’s, which used an asterisk to indicate a spotlight on the writer. Our focus on songwriters and composers is constant as is our commitment to value and secure your rights as music creators. For more on the campaign please take a look at the campaign video posted on the home page of bmi.com.
It also seems fitting that during this time of evolution, BMI has decided to go “green” and embrace every business’s responsibility to cut down on paper by providing royalty statements only online beginning early next year. Although paper checks and distribution summary information will continue to be mailed, at least for the short term, we encourage members to use BMI Online Services for all BMI information needs including registration of your musical works. We look forward to continuing to serve you and thank you for entrusting us with your creative works. Congratulations to Adele for her Oscar for “Skyfall” and Mychael Danna for his Oscar for Best Original Score of Life of Pi. Also, to all our multiple GRAMMY winners: fun.,The Black Keys, Frank Ocean, Kanye West, Gotye and all the other winners.
Sincerely,
Del Bryant
President
Chief Executive Officer
Enclosure:
