The music rights agency BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.), announced Thursday that it has laid down an unprecedented industry record with a whopping $1.013 billion in royalty distributions over the course of the fiscal year’s end June 30.
BMI’s gains generated the highest total revenue in the company’s history, as well as distributing $877 million to its associated artists and music publishers.
If that was not enough, BMI’s digital revenue was reported at over $100 million, making the company the first ever U.S. Performance Rights Organization (PRO) to reach this point.
Mike O’Neill, President and CEO said the company is pleased with the milestone, but will strive to continue pushing forward.
“These are phenomenal results for BMI and underscore the value we bring to our community of songwriters, composers and publishers,” said O’Neill. “They’re even more impressive when you consider the negative impact to our international revenues brought on by the strengthening dollar,” he added.
BMI told the New York Times that out of the 600 billion performances managed through BMI this year, 500 billion of them were digital, indicating a 25% increase over last year. BMI's sources of revenue included Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube, just to name a few.
BMI is a white-collar amplifier for the interests of BMI’s songwriters and artists like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Lil Wayne, in the hopes that the artist can win these legal battles and receive the pay they deserve.
“We will continue to work hard on behalf of the more than 700,000 affiliates we have the privilege to represent, not only to make sure they can continue to earn a living doing what they love, but also through our ongoing efforts with Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice to rewrite the rules so they make sense for today’s digital world.”
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