Yes, you can register with Payoneer and use the USD banking information they provide to set up direct deposit through your BMI Online Services account. Royalty payments of $2.00 and above will be paid to your Payoneer account. Please refer to your Payoneer terms and conditions for any fees that may apply.
You may also elect BMI to send payment via wire; however, earnings must reach $250 or above before a quarterly payment is made, or $25 or above in August’s distribution. Please refer to bmi.com under Frequency of Royalty Payments for more information about Accruals. Please see your Bank’s terms and conditions for any fees that may apply. You can request a wire transfer form by emailing International@bmi.com.
As long as you are not a member of any other performing rights organization in the world, you are free to affiliate with BMI if you believe you will be earning performance royalties.
Your publisher will either enter into a sub-publishing agreement with a publisher in the local territories or have a subsidiary in each territory. The society in each territory collects the royalties and distributes the writer’s share to BMI on your behalf, while the publisher’s share of royalties is paid to the local sub-publisher who then pays through the royalties to your publisher less an agreed administration fee.
BMI is only entitled to collect your publisher performance royalties if you have not assigned your performing rights to a publisher in another territory. You should review your contracts carefully for the details on the rights you have assigned.
While BMI’s license agreements are restricted to the United States, our reciprocal agreements with Copyright Societies in other countries allow us to collect royalties for foreign performances. Each society partner is responsible for monitoring activity in their represented territory. Royalties earned from these performances must first be collected by the partner society, and then remitted to BMI for distribution to our affiliates. This process can take 12-18 months depending on the country of origin. If you believe you are due royalties from foreign performances, please contact statement@bmi.com with as much information as possible about the activity, including the territory of activity, songs that have been performed, and performance source such as TV, Radio, or Streaming Service.
While BMI’s license agreements are restricted to the United States, our reciprocal agreements with Copyright Societies in other countries allow us to collect royalties for foreign performances. Each society partner is responsible for monitoring activity in their represented territory. Royalties earned from these performances must first be collected by the partner society, and then remitted to BMI for distribution to our affiliates. This process can take 12-18 months depending on the country of origin. If you believe you are due royalties from foreign performances, please contact statement@bmi.com with as much information as possible about the activity, including the territory of activity, songs that have been performed, and performance source such as TV, Radio, or Streaming Service.
Yes. Your work is protected in the U.S. However, in order to receive the full benefits of the U.S. Copyright Law (such as the ability to sue for infringement in the United States of America), you should also register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office.
If you expect to receive performance royalties, all you have to do is make sure your work is registered with BMI. However, this does not mean that your mechanical rights are registered. You should contact The Harry Fox Agency if you have questions in this regard.
It’s important to understand that BMI collects royalties for foreign performances through its international network of reciprocal agreements, and that the collection timeline generally ranges between one and two years from the date of performance. You can determine what periods and performances have been distributed for each society by logging into your Online Services account and reviewing the most recent BMI Distribution letter. Select the Distribution Letter link and then the link for the International Distribution Summary.
If after consulting the international distributions schedule you believe you should have received radio airplay royalties, please contact statement@bmi.com with the following details:
Country of performance
Date range of performance
Radio stations, formats, or markets – as known.
While this information is not mandatory, please note our ability to assist will be limited without these details. Each society follows a different methodology for producing its radio distribution, which may involve censuses, samples, or other approaches. Please note that some methodologies, such as the sample-based approach, do not ultimately account every performance. Additionally, please also note that most foreign societies will not perform royalty adjustments that are less than $50.
BMI does not log your performances in other countries. The performing rights organization in the country of performance logs your performances. Each society requires a different amount of time to identify and distribute royalties to BMI. Most societies make distributions to BMI on an annual or semi-annual basis. When BMI receives these royalties, the payments are identified as quickly as possible to expedite payments to our affiliates.
The international rights societies pay royalties on music performed in cinemas or theaters. If you are aware that a particular movie is playing in a cinema or theater you should speak with your production company and have them provide a cue sheet to BMI especially if the film was not released in the United States. Also, if you are aware that the name of a particular movie has been changed into another language, you should contact the International Administration Department.
BMI does not deal with the individual publishing companies in other countries. We only deal with the foreign rights societies for the collection of performance royalties.
Some international societies in Europe and Asia have shortened their reporting deadlines significantly. As a result, it is now imperative to report all international live classical concerts within six months of the performance date. Send us a copy of the concert program (or other acceptable documentation) along with a completed International Report Form via email to
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or via regular mail to:
BMI Classical
7 World Trade Center
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007-0030
