Music Licensing for Television
BMI Makes It Simple to License Music for Local and Low Power Television (LPTV)
Music is a key component to any successful series or film. Whether it’s the opening theme to your favorite TV show, the local nightly news that draws you in, or the background music that keeps your emotions peaked, BMI composers deliver the best music in TV and film. A BMI music license gives you copyright permission to play over 22.4 million in BMI’s award-winning repertoire. Here’s how you can get started:
ONLINE FORM
Fill out our Online Form and a BMI Representative will get back to you with more information.
NOTICE TO COMMERCIAL LOCAL TELEVISION BROADCASTING STATIONS
December 11, 2025
We are pleased to inform you BMI and the Television Music License Committee (TVMLC) have reached an agreement on the final terms of the BMI Local Television Station license agreement for your station(s) covering the period from July 1, 2024 through December 31, 2027 (the “Local Television 2024 License”).
Customers can go to http://www.bmi.com/licensingcommunity to review and accept the terms of the new agreement now.
Existing BMI Community Users: Your username is your email address. If you have forgotten your password, click the appropriate link and follow the instructions. Please note that if you haven’t used our online system recently, you will likely need to follow the instructions for new users below.
New BMI Community Users: Click the link above and then choose “Don’t have a BMI Customer Community account? Register here.” As prompted, enter your account number and your email address. Then click the “Register” button to be routed to your account.
Once you are logged in, select the link under My Licenses to get started.
Feel free to reach out to us via email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or via phone at (800) 206-7671.
Local Television FAQs
If you have additional questions, please review our full list of Licensing FAQs or contact a BMI representative.
BMI and the Television Music Licensing Committee (TVMLC) negotiated a license that covers Local Television stations. Each station’s fees are determined in accordance with allocations set forth by the TVMLC. Please reference our television licenses on this page below.
Per Program is used by those stations that directly license music in local or syndicated programming. All other stations customarily select the Blanket License.
If you are streaming your local content on the station website, those performances would be covered under the Blanket or Per Program Licenses.
Yes, digital broadcast channels are included in the current Local TV license.
BMI has an umbrella agreement with PBS affiliated stations. As a result, these stations do not need a separate license with BMI. Please check with your BMI representative if you believe you are covered under the PBS license.
Low Power Television FAQs
If you have additional questions, please review our full list of Licensing FAQs or contact a BMI representative.
Fees are based on a station’s net revenues unless the station broadcasts shopping related programming or operates as a 501(c).
A station is required to submit an Annual Financial Report to BMI on or before April 1st of each year. This report will ask for financial information for the previous year. You can find a copy of this report form on this page below.
BMI has an umbrella agreement with PBS affiliated stations. As a result, these stations do not need a separate license with BMI. Please check with your BMI representative if you believe you are covered under the NPR license.