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U.S. Radio Royalties

U.S. Radio Feature Performances

BMI considers a radio feature performance of a popular song to be one which lasts 90 seconds or more and which is the sole sound broadcast at the time of the performance.

BMI makes separate payment for four categories of radio feature performances, based upon a sampling of stations licensed by BMI.

  • COMMERCIAL RADIO
  • CLASSICAL RADIO
  • COLLEGE RADIO
  • NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO

Commercial Radio

BMI uses information provided by its commercial radio station licensees to determine performances. All licensed stations are requested to log performances for a three day period each year, with different stations logging each day of the year. This sample is then factored to create a statistically reliable projection of all feature performances on all commercial music format radio stations throughout the country. In addition to the sample, BMI includes data from third-party providers such as MediaBase in its radio distributions.

Royalties for performances of works in the BMI repertoire that occur on United States commercial radio stations will be paid according to the following rules:

Royalty payments will be based upon the license fees that BMI collected from each individual station that performed a work. As a result, royalty payment rates will vary from quarter to quarter depending upon the amount of the license fees collected from stations that aired each work during that quarter. In addition, the rates may fluctuate from quarter to quarter depending upon the total dollar amount available for each quarter’s commercial radio distribution.

In furtherance of BMI’s tradition of serving writers and publishers of all types of music, BMI’s long-standing goal—to support all affiliates with distribution methodologies that fairly value their creative efforts—has not changed. Accordingly, supplemental criteria may be used to establish an increased valuation for certain works performed on U.S. commercial radio stations. A small additional allocation from the amount available for distribution each quarter, which will include funds received by BMI from General Licensing and other income sources, may be used for this purpose. Such allocations will appear in the Hit Song Bonus column of the BMI royalty statement.

Under the BMI radio payment system, each feature work, including those written for films and the theater, can become eligible for up to three distinct royalty payment components each quarter. They are called the CURRENT ACTIVITY PAYMENT, the HIT SONG BONUS and the STANDARDS BONUS.

The Current Activity Payment

All works in the BMI repertoire that are performed on radio will be eligible for a Current Activity Payment. BMI calculates a unique royalty rate for each work, which is based upon the license fees collected from stations that performed that work in combination with the number of times each work aired on those stations. For example, if one of your works was performed on 200 radio stations during a quarter, its unique rate is calculated based upon the license fees collected by BMI from those 200 stations. If another work in your catalogue was performed on 2,000 stations in the same quarter, that work’s rate will be different because it will be based upon the license fees collected from those 2,000 stations. All works that were reported to BMI as having been performed on radio during a quarter, regardless of how many times each of the works was performed, are eligible for the Current Activity Payment. The substantial majority of the amount available for distribution each quarter will be used to make Current Activity Payments.

The Hit Song Bonus

Due to their overall current popularity, works that are classified as Hit Songs are eligible for additional royalties. Any work that is performed more than 95,000 times during a quarter is eligible for a Hit Song Bonus. BMI will allocate a portion of the amount available for distribution each quarter for commercial radio performances to the Hit Song Bonus, and each eligible work will receive a pro-rata portion of the Hit Song Bonus allocation according to the actual number of its current quarter’s performances. As a result, works with higher current quarter performance counts earn larger Hit Song Bonus royalties than those works with lower current quarter performance counts.

The Standards Bonus

Due to their sustained long-term presence on radio station playlists throughout the country, works that have been performed on United States commercial radio stations at least 2.5 million times since being released and are performed at least 15,000 times in a quarter are classified as Standards and, as such, become eligible for the Standards Bonus. Works in this category share the Standards Bonus royalties in pro-rata fashion according to the actual number of cumulative historical commercial radio performances for each work in combination with its performances in the current quarter. Works with the higher combination of cumulative historical and current quarter commercial radio performance counts earn larger Standards Bonus royalties than those with the lower combinations of such performances.

Classical Works

There are special rules for classical works. A classical work is defined as a symphonic, chamber music, solo or other work originally written for classical concert or opera performance. If a local commercial radio feature performance is of a classical work, each performance will be paid at the minimum rate of 32 cents per minute total for all participants.

College Radio

Payment is made for feature performances of a song on radio stations which are affiliated with colleges and universities at a minimum rate of 6 cents total for all participants.

National Public Radio

The royalty rate paid for performances on National Public Radio (NPR) is based upon the amount of license fees received by BMI from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), as compared to the total number of monitored performances of BMI works on NPR stations. As a result, the royalty rate changes each quarter, as a different number of performances is paid from the amount of fees received.

Extended Play Work

A work (other than a classical work) that exceeds 6 minutes in length as commercially recorded will receive double credit for a full radio broadcast performance. The Work Registration Form submitted to BMI for such work should be accompanied by a letter requesting the higher rate of payment, note the length of the recording and include a copy of the label or companion booklet page documenting that length.