It was a record 12 months of revenue collection for BMI. During its most recent fiscal year (July 2020 to June 2021) over $1.3 billion was distributed to songwriters, composers and publishers. $105 million of that revenue came from the radio industry.
In addition, BMI’s total domestic licensing revenue exceeded $1 billion for the first time.
“In a year marked by incredible challenges, the power of music is stronger than ever,” said Mike O’Neill, President/CEO. “BMI was once again able to demonstrate record growth, both in revenue and with the largest royalty distributions in our history. I am very proud of the team at BMI who, throughout the year, continued to focus on our top priority of mitigating the financial impact of the pandemic on our creative community.”
BMI’s total distributions of $1.335 billion include domestic and international royalties as well as distributions from direct deals that BMI administers for its publisher and digital service provider clients. Those direct deals, which make up approximately 6% of BMI’s overall distribution, totaled $85 million, marking a $14 million increase over the previous year.
BMI’s record performance in total domestic revenue, comprised of the digital, media and general licensing categories, was driven by a 47% increase in digital licensing revenue, which closed the year at $448 million. Digital audiovisual services contributed greatly to the increase, thanks to new agreements with several FAST (free ad supported TV) services, strong growth from subscription video-on-demand services.
