BMI has announced record revenue and royalty distributions for the fiscal year. The performing rights organization said on Thursday that it generated revenues of $1.013 billion during the period ending June 30, with $877 million of that going to its songwriters, composers and publishers.
Broken down, traditional revenue from all media licensing (radio, TV, cable, satellite) saw record levels at $484 million, while fees paid by bars, hotels, fitness centers and restaurants brought in an additional $137 million. On the digital side, BMI became the first U.S. PRO to exceed $100 million in revenue, thanks to a 65 percent increase over last year. Digital revenue sources included Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube. Meanwhile, international revenue came in at $292 million, a 5 percent drop from last year.
In all, BMI said it processed around 600 billion performances during the fiscal year, 500 billion of which were digital. More than 1.2 million unique musical works were identified across the various digital services, the company said.
Mike O’Neill, president and CEO of BMI, called the results “phenomenal” and said “they’re even more impressive when you consider the negative impact to our international revenues brought on by the strengthening dollar.”
He added, “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.”
