BMI Grows Revenue, Distributions To Record Levels In 2021 Fiscal Year

BMI has closed out its full 2021 fiscal year. The company has distributed and administered a record $1.335 billion to its songwriters, composers and publishers, marking its highest distribution ever, up $102 million or 8% over last year.

Through growth in the digital sector, BMI’s total domestic licensing revenue exceeded $1 billion for the first time, reporting a total of $1.361 billion.

“In a year marked by incredible challenges, the power of music is stronger than ever,” says Mike O’Neill, President & CEO, BMI. “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. We are very pleased to not only provide this stability to our songwriters, composers and publishers, but also to grow the value of the BMI repertoire now and into the future.”

BMI’s total distributions of $1.335 billion include domestic and international royalties as well as distributions from direct deals that BMI administers. Those direct deals, which make up approximately 6% of BMI’s distribution, totaled $85 million which is 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 $423 million. Digital audiovisual services contributed greatly to the increase, due to new agreements with several free ad supported TV services, strong growth from subscription video-on-demand services (Disney+, Hulu, Netflix), and direct-to-streaming film premieres (Apple, Amazon, YouTube, Fandango NOW).

Total domestic media licensing revenue, comprised of cable and satellite, broadcast radio and television, posted an 11% decline from last year to $472 million. Cable and satellite derived revenues remained the largest contributor, coming in essentially flat to last year at $269 million. Radio posted a $50 million decline year-to-year. Broadcast television came in at $95 million, down 6% from last year.

Meanwhile, the general licensing sector, consisting of live concert venues, bars, restaurants, fitness centers, along with other income, was down 2% year-to-year for a total of $127 million.

BMI’s international revenue grew to $339 million this year, a $15 million or 4% increase over last year. Additionally, affiliate membership grew 11% this year to 1.2 million, with nearly 120,000 new songwriters, composers and publishers joining the organization.

The company processed 1.98 trillion performances, up 13% from last year. Of that, 1.95 trillion were digital plays. BMI’s number of licensed musical works increased by 10%, now totaling 18.7 million.