Is Anybody Familiar with BMI?

BMI and ASCAP are 2 publishing companies through which you can collect royalties

Whenever I am reading a CD booklet, I always notice that the musicians all have registered names for their publishing company

For example, one of my Death Cab For Cutie CD's says:

All Songs by Where I'm Calling From Music BMI

I have registered with BMI, but all I got was a number

Where do I sign up for a name??

BMI and ASCAP are 2 publishing companies through which you can collect royalties

Whenever I am reading a CD booklet, I always notice that the musicians all have registered names for their publishing company

For example, one of my Death Cab For Cutie CD's says:

All Songs by Where I'm Calling From Music BMI

I have registered with BMI, but all I got was a number

Where do I sign up for a name??

They are NOT publishing companies. I am a member of ASCAP. They are a performing arts organizations. BMI "Broadcast Music inc." ASCAP "American Society of Composers Authors and Publushers", and SESAC " Society of European Stage Authors & Composers"

WHAT DOES SESAC DO FOR SONGWRITERS?

SESAC will represent the right for your music to be played in public. Songwriters and publishers are paid royalties based upon how much their songs are played. The system required to compute compensation is based on many factors, including state-of-the-art monitoring, computer database information and broadcast logs. Unlike ASCAP and BMI, SESAC utilizes a selective process when affiliating songwriters and publishers, resulting in a roster of affiliates who have personal relationships with the SESAC staff. In short, SESAC’s creative staff provides affiliated songwriters and publishers with a level of service and attention unparalleled in the industry.

What Is ASCAP?

ASCAP is a membership association of more than 300,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music. Through agreements with affiliated international societies, ASCAP also represents hundreds of thousands of music creators worldwide. ASCAP is the only U.S. performing rights organization created and controlled by composers, songwriters and music publishers, with a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership.

ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works. ASCAP's licensees encompass all who want to perform copyrighted music publicly. ASCAP makes giving and obtaining permission to perform music simple for both creators and users of music.

What is BMI

BMI is a performing right organization: It collects license fees on behalf of its songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed.

As a performing right organization, BMI issues licenses to various users of music, including television and radio stations and networks; new media, including the Internet and mobile technologies such as ringtones and ringbacks; satellite audio services like XM and Sirius; nightclubs, discos, hotels, bars, restaurants and other venues; digital jukeboxes; and live concerts. It then tracks public performances of its members’ music, and collects and distributes licensing revenues for those performances as royalties to the more than over 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers it represents, as well as the thousands of creators from around the world who have chosen BMI for representation in the U.S.

BMI currently represents more than 6.5 million compositions — a number that is constantly growing. As a result, BMI has, over the years, sought out and implemented a number of technological innovations in its continuing effort to gather the most accurate information available about where, when and how its members’ compositions are used as well as ensuring that payment to those whose works have been performed is made in as precise and timely a manner as possible

SO basicaly they only collect royalty payments from internet,radio,TV, Films etc. THEY ARE NOT PUBLISHING COMPANIES! The number is the registration code not the publishing code. that is a publishers job to register it with the copyright office, and they get the © number. I am a member of ASCAP as a writer and publisher. I use my name like this Hector Omar Sanchez (ASCAP) and my company The Hector O Sanchez Music CO (ASCAP)

WOW I did not know I did all this....;)...just kidding its called copy and pasting.