Here's how to register a song with BMI in 2023 | Performance Royalties
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- Here's a step-by-step guide on how to register a song with BMI, a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 20.6 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.3 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers.
BMI royalties are performing right royalties, which are earned when a musical work is performed publicly. Public performance occurs when a song is sung or played, recorded or live, on radio and television, as well as through other media such as Internet streaming services, live concerts, and programmed music services. BMI grants licenses to perform, use, or broadcast music from its extensive repertoire to hundreds of thousands of users of music in public places, such as radio and tv stations, hotels, clubs, colleges, restaurants, stores, and more.
Sign up for BMI here: www.bmi.com/
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maybe the clearest, best video on this topic ever. thank you so much
Glad it was helpful!
Solid video man!!! Perfect/engaging easy to follow step by step registration video.
Glad it was helpful!
Life saver thank you! So simple n str8 forward. Subsrcibed!
Thanks for the sub!
Thank you it was free for me as a song writer keep up the great work
Glad to help!
As of Oct 2023, it costs $75
@@snowmanplan I think they do free registration from time to time. I registered last week for free
I believe it's due to them being a for-profit company now@@snowmanplan
YOU MY FRIEND ARE AMAZING!!!!! 🤩
Thanks! Glad to help out
Awesome thanks Michael! You're doing The Good Work out there 🥂
Thanks man!
GREAT WORK SIR!!!!
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing, man. I appreciate it.
I have a question though, it’s not required to submit any file (pdf, wav) whatsoever?
Nope just need all the info and you're good to go. PROs only cover songs, not recordings.
@@musicbyazuma Oh, okay, thank you.
…but how will BMI find out if some has used your beat or lyrics?
Thank you 🙏
No problem!
thankyou! This helped me
Glad it helped!
It'd be nice to get more information about using Tunecore publishing, like what we should mark down for them. They are not clear about that even when you are signed up with them.
I believe they offer admin publishing so they would handle all the registration for you.
This was very helpful!
I'm so glad!
Love the video!
Yessir!
Subscribed. Hello from the UK. I read that UK artists can register with BMI, is this correct?
I need to go over the video again re the IPI artist number. Thank you for the video, really appreciate the time it takes to share information.
My daughter and her father are talented singers, musicians and songwriters. I really dislike watching creative people waste their talents. So I'm going to try and figure this all out with TH-cams help so I can promote their music. 🦋😊👍
Hello! Yes you can register with BMI even if you're outside the US, it might make more sense to register with a UK-based PRO?
For “title”, do I enter Artist Name- Song or just list the song as the “title”?
So on the publisher and writers tab I’m putting my information since I produced the track ? You had me confused at that part bro, idk if I enter the artist information or mine
As a producer on a track you are considered to be a writer WITH a publishing entity.
👋 Question:
When I enter a publisher, if i use songtrust do they count as my publisher? If so, how would the ownership% and collection% work?
Im new to this and any help would be appreciated! ❤
No problem and happy to help. Your publisher would be whatever entity you form with your PRO. For example, I have my own publishing company but Songtrust is marked the the admin publisher.
@@musicbyazuma Thank you for the help! 🤝
if i'm a songwriter (lyricist) how do i know if i should register as a publisher? is that a better route to go or will that lead to me doing more work on the back end?
Registering as a publisher is super easy. Just need to make a publisher entity account with whatever PRO you choose.
Hello, Your video was very helpful. I am joining BMI as a songwriter today and it is charging a $75 fee is this correct or am I doing something wrong?
That is correct. BMI was acquired last year and are now a for-profit company.
In the publisher section, what would I put in if Im registered with songtrust?
You can put either your Publisher entity or Songtrust. Once you've registered with Songtrust, they will submit another registration
At 3 am you just saved me a bunch of a headache
i didn't understand the publishers question... why would i say yes if it's not registered yet with BMi or is Publisher Distrokid?
I'm a bit confused on your question.
@@musicbyazuma I'm with @macaroon147 - Should I why would "most people click yes" when asked if they have a publisher? I think that's the better question.
Do I use my government name or artist name when making an account?
Real name for tax purposes.
Have a bunch of songs written and finished but don't have a publisher or ipi
Gotta sign up for a publisher entity then
I worked with a producer on a song, but he is not affiliated with a PRO. Neither of us has a publisher. Can I still register the song and submit my percentage of ownership
You need to register with a PRO asap.
If I have songtrust for publishing, how should I fill out the publishing portion of the registration?
You should put your own publishing entity first then register with Songtrust
If I don’t have a Publishing company because BMI collect that royalty for me do I still add myself under publisher? Because I’m assuming my co-writer has one with ASCAP.
That means you're self-published! So BMI will automatically send you your publishing half directly to your writer account. You have the option to create your own publishing entity.
Hey great vid! I have a question im hopin u can answer tho - on the artist and recording page, if I haven't released the record yet, but it is recorded and an artist on the recording, do I still answer those two questions with "Yes"
In that case, I would wait until the song is released before registering!
Do I need to register each song for my EP separately?
Yes! Luckily you can copy previous splits/writer information between songs
How do I go about registering an EP? Is it the same for album ? What’s the process
Same process. Each song will need to be registered separately.
Hello Azuma! i have an Album of 18 tracks dropping on the 20th of December and i want to register it on BMI. My question is, do i have to register the Album as a whole of register the 18 tracks individually. Please help me with a response... Thank you...
You'll need to register each song individually.
@@musicbyazuma thank you 🙏
You should be an auctioneer......
do I have to upload a mp3 when I submit a song?
Nope. PROs only handle songwriting registrations and not master recording registrations
@@musicbyazuma wtf is that. you got a video on that?
I got to a step where it asked for intended purpose?
Depends on your song situation
I’m a song writer and vocalist. Do I need a publisher account as well? Thank you! 🙏🏼
100% yes
@@musicbyazuma my professor said don’t worry about that right now but thanks.
once you register your song with bmi does that mean they're going to distribute my song onto streaming platforms such as spotify and apple music? if so how are they going to do that if i didn't have to include a copy of my song? if not, does that mean i still have to use a distribution platform such as united masters?
BMI is collecting royalties for songwriters/publishers meaning the underlying lyric and melodies - not the master recording(s). You'll need to be with a PRO, distributor, and or admin publisher to handle get your music available everywhere.
why can't i use an ASCAP publisher with BMI "A BMI writer must not be linked to a publisher group that contains any ASCAP or SESAC publishers"
BMI writers need a BMI publisher. Same goes for any PRO. You'll need a separate entity for BMI if you're writer account is with BMI.
I have a finished album, I would like to send the album to one of the synchronized music libraries, I did all the songs myself, should I specify the library I want to send to or should I just fill in the basic information and skip what the songs are for and then do that library for me ? because I wouldn't want someone to steal my songs. Thanks for your help in advance!
You should always fill out a PRO form for each song you create. Whichever sync library you pitch to will create a new PRO entry for the songs you sign over.
In BMI, when asked who the publisher is of a cover song that I arranged, are they referring to the cover song's publisher or myself as the publisher of my own arrangement. Can you understand how ambiguous that question is? Please clear this up, not only for me, but for everyone else who wants to register their arrangement in BMI.
Would be the original publisher's info. For PRO registrations, you have to note if the song is a cover song and the original writers/publishers
@@musicbyazuma who is the publisher though what does that mean lol
Great video🔥🔥🔥
Thanks!
What if I don’t know or have all the writer’s information and all I have is my percentage of the split?!
You'll need to ask your writer's for that info. Never register a song without all the correct information.
@@musicbyazuma ok thanks so much… buh what is it is already registered on their end, would need to also still register it on my end or it will automatically reflect as registered on my end??!
Should appear in your catalog if they registerd the song correctly. Double check your IPIs and metadata to confirm@@trukordz
What is ipi how would i get it?
Your IPI is an ID number given to you by your PRO of choice. You will have 2 separate IPIs (one for writer and one for publisher).
Great video! What if the song was NOT originally written for television, but it's about to be used in television, and I might put it on audio jungle later? I also read in another thread to always put NO here, not sure the reasoning though?
You can always edit your entry later on!
@@musicbyazuma Thanks for the response! Just a heads up, the BMI training video says you can not update later via the online portal, you have to email them and asking someone to update it for you. Also, it was interesting to find if you save the BMI data on their site before marking the 'works data' complete, it will let you modify almost all the info except this one question. I wonder why this question exists, maybe due to DRM software since you might license your tracks to others? Or maybe they want to track film and tv stuff cause it often makes more money in royalties? Thoughts?
I believe it's due to the necessity to get a cue sheet for that specific song. Which is another piece of metadata they would need to track.
When i sign up they ask me to pay 75$ , Am i doing something wrong or its there new update?
They recently switched to a for-profit model, might be a new charge to increase sales
I’m having a issue with how to put the song info in correctly have songs in there and been there over 3 years haven’t seen a penny but song has a lot of views
What are you stuck on?
Can I register a track bought on BeatStars (license bought) for bmi?
Depends on your licensing agreement with the producer. Sometimes the producer will ask for a percentage of royalties.
so bmi can be my publisher then?
BMI would be your PRO. You would need your own publishing entity.
Hey can u edit the shares after you register the song ?
You would need to contact ASCAP directly to make any changes to the shares - in order to avoid any conflicts with other PROs
I made a song for a client's podcast. How do I register that song?
Depends on where the song is available. Podcasts don't pay royalties
I have a hyphen in my stage name and after typing into the 'Artist Name' field and pressing 'OK' the hyphen disappears from the name. So, what should I do?
The artist portion doesn't really matter. Just make sure you're putting the ISRC
please what is a public domain arrangement song?
Songs that have expired copyright and have entered public domain - meaning anyone can use them
Hey as a solo artist with original music does this video apply?
And if not can you guide me to a video or tutorial that does?
Yessir. You'll need to register each of your songs with a PRO of choice.
Since Bmi doesn’t require you to upload a ISRC code how do they track Your music for sound scan ?
You have the option to add a ISRC during the registration process.
What if You click that You did use a sample ?
I would only click this if you use an uncleared sample. Splice, Cymatics, or any other royalty free library is fair game
Why do some of my songs not pop up on my statements but they’re registered?
Songs will only appear once they've generated some amount of royalties. It does take a few months from a stream to count and be paid out
How do you transfer from SESAC to BMI
You'll need to contact SESAC, most likely need to fill out a resignation form from SESAC
So after a registration what happens next? I need to submit a number for a music cue sheet. Will I receive a specific number for each song I submitted? Or should I be providing them with my IPI number? Thanks!
Cue sheets are registered by the TV/Movie studios - you won't need to fill this in!
Hello, I've finished registering and now my song is in the ready to submit section. Do I select it and click "Submit all selected works" or leave the song alone now? It releases in 4 days and I registered the song about a month ago (if that info helps!)
Submit and you're good to go!
everybody is saying BMI is free for songwriters but it's telling me there is a $75 registration fee at the end of the registration? am i missing something
BMI used to be free but they were recently acquired. The new membership was launched right after.
@@musicbyazumado you think BMI is still the best choice or would another PRO be better?
I've been with ASCAP since 2014 and they haven't done me wrong. PROs do pay slightly different@@drewdilf
Can we register music before we submit songs to distro/tunecore?? And do we put the release date as the day we submitted songs to digital stores, or the day of actual release date??
Also can you share a video of how to submit ep/album? Do we submit album one by one singles on album. Or all at once??
Last question, do we need to put our stage name or gov name to receive royalties on bmi? Or does it matter.
You'll need the recording info in order to ensure a complete registration with your PRO.
@@musicbyazumawhen you say PRO what does that mean
Performing rights organization@@jaykapri__
Should I copyright officially before I register with BMI?
Either order is fine! Personally I register my tracks with my PRO as soon as they are scheduled for release since BMI/ASCAP don't need any release information (ie. ISRC, artist name, release date)
Great vid, very useful bid, how do u register a cover song or can you not do that
Can't register cover songs with a PRO
@@musicbyazuma thanks for replying, i did have a look through the bmi guidelines and it wasn’t clear as they said the publishers and writers would get basically all of the royalties except for one which was digital which the cover artist would get but i expected basically none
*Where I can upload my music composition in BMI for full copyright ©️ license?*
You'll need to register with Copyright.gov
@@musicbyazuma I live in South Asia.
So if I use tunecore as a distributor is it mandatory that I put my work has a publisher ? Asking because tunecore already takes a 20% commission for using their services . Trying to get as much of my royalties that actually belong to me
I purchased my own ISRC and UPC codes and embedded them myself
Your distributor is not the same thing as a publisher. You should be collecting 100% of your publishing (writer and publisher)
Do you know how to gain an additional name connected to your IPI number? I can’t add another 😅
No possible since it's your legal name. You can only be with one PRO at a time
@@musicbyazuma No I mean it should be possible to work under an AKA. But somehow I can’t change it or add one. This should be possible
I think I answer the are there any artists and recording section incorrect for music that has been released already can it be fix?
You'll need to contact BMI support directly. They don't allow editing for submitted tracks.
can i register a song in bmi if i already released on spotify via united masters?
Yes! Music distributors are different from your PRO
How do i cancel my register with BMI?
You'll need to contact BMI support. I believe they have a process for moving your catalog to a different PRO
An artist i produced a beat for asked me for my ipi number what does that mean and what should i do? Should i register that song?
Your IPI is like your driver's license #. They need it to make sure you tag the correct person. You are given a unique IPI with whichever PRO you choose.
im an independent artist i uploadd thru distrokid, i hit no on puiblishing you said sumn bout "self-published" how do i actually own my own publishing so no one can steal my ownership. or me registering with bmi each song is that actually taking action to own my publishing/masters? do i need to make my own publishing somehow? i have only made a few hundrred bux off distrrokid but i have been missing out on a little bit of cash on bmi my dawg told me. please help!!
You need to form your own publishing entity.
When I click Work Registration it tells me to log in and when I do it it puts me back to the main page I was at before
You can try to clear your browser cache or logging out completely and logging back in. Some others have mentioned they were having issues as well.
Great video! I got a question, ¿If i have BMI and Songtrust how can i register my song?
I would recommend registering with your PRO first THEN register with Songtrust. Songtrust has been super slow/backed-up with new submissions so it's recommended to register on your own for now.
Not free. 75$
Most likely due to the news of the acquisition.
Right it used to be free years ago . Not now
Bet I got the money I’m goin to preform at rolling loud 😂
Right
Interesting. I'm actually moving from Distrokid over to CD Baby and I see CD Baby can do it for you, so I might just do it through them...
I have tunecore publishing admin for an upcoming release. Do I have submit them as a publisher and if so, what numbers do I input?
Or will tunecore take care of this for me and I dont have to register with bmi?
I would contact Tunecore support for a better answer but they should handle all the registration for you.
what if I don't know anyone elses writer information or publisher information? I produced a song that was released under someone elses name and I want to register it on BMI but i don't have access to any info about what their ipi number is or what publishers they are affiliated with
You have to have their writer information as you are registering a song where royalties are/should be paid out respectively. You'll need them to register with the correct agencies to make sure you can register seemlessly.
if your doing a whole album are u just suppose to put the song name for "recording title"?
Each song needs to be registered separately
new subsciber , my artists name is ifechi music . thank you so much , i want to learn more about you. you want to be friends ?
well i did it but i dont see any reason why i bothered getting in the first place
Make sure you're submitting the songs you've released - this is the only way to make sure you get your royalties.
Hello! I released a song with CD Baby's pro publishing. Does this mean CD Baby is my publisher and I should input 100% ownership and 100% collection? Thank you
They handle administrative publishing - meaning you most likely wont need to register again if CD Baby has gone through the process for you. I would just email support to see if they need anything from you (ex. Writer IPI, contact info, etc.)
What if you don't know the co-writers information at all? Do you put "unknown" in the first name slot
You should get their info asap. Any corrections to the entry take a few weeks to enter in.
I am a producer and i have 25% on the publishing side , it says the total shares must equal 100% im confused
Each song is divided into two parts, the writer's side and publisher's side. Assuming you have a 75%/25% split with the artist you worked with - you would register as follows: H4rry (writer's share 12.5%, publisher's share 12.5%), Artist (writer's share 37.5%, publisher's share 37.5%).
@@musicbyazuma ok what if i dont have their publisher could i do it without it? and if not how do i get it
If you're with BMI as a writer, you can opt to be self-published, meaning you would automatically receive your publisher's share
@@musicbyazuma i just messaged you on your instagram
So if I have a publishing admin such as tunecore but not a publisher. Do I enter that into the publisher section?
Also you said that the ownership and the collection percentage would change with an admin publisher. In what way may I ask?
No need - Tunecore will automatically submit another PRO registration for you with the updated info
Admin publishers solely administer and collect, they don't take any ownership of your master/composition. Think of them as a realtor who manages/collects for a property but doesn't actually own the unit.
I made a beat and I’m going to get a song with a big artist. I am paying him for a feature and the song will be posted by multiple different accounts that are not my own. These steps will guarantee that I get 100% of the streaming payments? And it does it automatically or they would have to pay me?
Depends on the deal. Registering with a PRO only gives you the writer/publisher's share of royalties generated from the "public performance" of your songs. You would need to talk to the artist about figuring out distribution royalties.
@@musicbyazuma sound good thanks bro! And how much would you charge to go on a FaceTime and help set this all up?
DM me on Instagram! @musicbyazuma
Hey why does mine say I got to pay a 75$ fee
You probably signed up for a publisher account. There is a fee for publishers. Writer account should be free!
@@musicbyazumawhere do I go for writers?when I click songwriter and feel out the information, it takes me too a page saying I have to pay.
They were recently acquired, so most likely where the fee is coming from.
How to create a password with 16 characters with one space, can you give a sample?
I'd use Google!
whats an IP number?
Think of it like your driver's license ID # - your PRO will give you your own
@@musicbyazuma why would BMI ask for the IP if they are the ones supposed to be giving it to me?
Because you need to enter in your IPI for every song registered. A bit redundant but they require this from all writer's for every song they upload.
@@musicbyazumahow do I get a IP name
Your IPI is given to you by your PRO. Check your settings/user info@@jaykapri__
Its $75 now 😮💨
Damn - ASCAP is actually free now if you're trying to switch!
BMI is NOT free anymore. it costs 75$ to signup as a songwriter.
Unfortunately yes.
Can you speak faster?
Just for you
BMI not free
I believe they switched due to them being acquired/for profit
not free, it cost 75€
This number might go up as BMI is currently on sale again.
It’s not free they keep trying to make me pay $70.
Are you trying to sign up as a Writer or Publisher? Writer accounts should be free while publisher accounts cost a one-time fee.
@@musicbyazuma yeah it says $75 one time fee, it only gave me too options songwriter and pubs lsu her I picked songwriter
Seems like an overhaul - the company recently switched to for-profit
Hey, dude...even at a speed of 0.75 I can't keep up with you)
Slow yo ass down 🤦🏾♂️
0.5x speed ;)