How To Register Songs with BMI and Get Your Royalties! PRO Walkthrough
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- Опубліковано 13 кві 2018
- HOW TO COLLECT EVERY SINGLE MUSIC ROYALTY IN ONE GUIDE:
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Wow I used to work for BMI & I must say that you are pretty impressive at explaining this process just being an affiliate! I always tried my best to educate musicians about the business because I believe a musician should be educated not just in music, but also in their music business. There were so many musicians who I'd see missing out on so much $$ due to them not knowing the business, glad there are people other than me trying to educate them & give you guys your power back!
Thanks so much, I like your channel too! It seems like we are trying to do the same thing. Let me know when you're ready and we should connect and create some content together.
@@IndieMusicAcademy Yeah I'm just starting out, but I'd definitely love to collab in the future! Still getting use to this UA-cam thing lol. I think we can create something extremely useful for musicians with your knowledge/perspective as an artist (& label/publisher??) & mine from working in the industry!
Am really new at this, i need a publisher and need to register my songs. Can you provide me some info?
Hey Tynia my name is Raymond Harrison. I write/compose my own Gospel songs. Would you mind when I've got questions about the business side of music in relation to BMI could I learn from you? For example when I upload my work do I upload the sheet music chart or the video version or the audio version of my work? I am now registered as the Composer/Songwriter with BMI and I have my registration number as the Artist. But now I wish to learn how to register as the Publisher, cause I choose to self publish my songs.
@@sharmainemorris-vsblogs6371 To register your songs, you are definitely on the right video! He really did an amazing job walking you through the registration process. I have some other tips related to registering on my channel, but he truly covered all the basics here! You do not need a publisher though; you can be self-published or create your own publishing company & create a publisher account with BMI.
These are very valid questions in the comment section, whoever is running this page should take the time to answer them.
Here is an extra bonus I want to give to you since I've been getting a lot of requests to comment on how to get royalties for beats. (I might turn this into a video, comment if you want me to go more in depth in a future video.)
If you are a producer, you usually don't need to register your beats with ASCAP or BMI.
There is one exception: If the beat, as-is, without any alterations or vocals, is going to be played on the radio, streamed on Spotify, or synced to television, etc. In that case, you should register your beat. Otherwise, you don't need to register the beat because the beat without becoming a song won't generate any royalties. ASCAP or BMI doesn't protect or copyright your beats in any way, and since they are not a publisher, they can't detect when your beats are used by artists in a mixtape or on an album.
Instead, sell your beats and services directly to artists via a work for hire agreement which you can download and use here: bit.ly/free-contracts
If you produce a beat that eventually turns into a song that is publicly released and distributed on Spotify, iTunes, Radio, etc, AND you have previously agreed to split the writing credit INSTEAD of conducting a work for hire, then you should register on ASCAP or BMI. When registering, it is very important that you register using the new song title and the performer information on the new work (not the original beat) to collect on your portion of the writers share of the newly created song using your beat.
Keep a record of the splits you agree upon using this document here: bit.ly/free-contracts
If your beats are being licensed as-is to TV and Film as instrumentals, there is a completely different process. Usually, you will be asked to fill out a cue sheet by a music supervisor. The cue sheet documents how what tracks are used in the film and how many times. If the film is lower budget and doesn't have a music supervisor, you can download this cue sheet and give it to the director: bit.ly/free-contracts
Hope this helps!
Lion Bold when signing up for BMI . Com as a D A W beatmaker do i register as a song writer or a publisher the goal is to gmail beats to artist who post music on Spotify and Apple Music and hope they record a song to my beat and post it a fellow producer told me he did a session with a rapper he said all he needed was his BMI so for me getting my BMI which u can’t change for two years and technically I’m not writing anything I’m creating beats am i a songwriter or publisher when the goal is placements
You register as a songwriter only AFTER the beat has become a song.
Lion Bold confusing please make a video so do i still sign up as a song writer then i wait to register till an artist actually record to my track and puts it out on Apple Music ?
Lion Bold are you sure it’s after ?
You can create your account with BMI any time, even if you don't have any songs to register yet. Yes, only register a song when it's in its final form. A beat by itself is not a song in it's final form.
My man is dropping gems 💎 I love it! Just set mine up. This is awesome stuff. Respect ✊🏽
Thanks!! I'm actually a writer with ascap but I just realized you can be a publisher with all PROs, this was very helpful!!
THIS WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL! Really Appreciate The Vid Broski! (KEEP GRINDIN')
J.P. Taylor you’re welcome! Thanks a ton!
I appreciate the content in this video. This information is priceless. You just gained another subscriber👍
Love it,man! What you do,so helpful.Thank you👍🏽💯
Thanks my man, that was simple but well explained; now we can move forward with the dream !!!
That's what I like to hear!
This was extremely helpful thank you
You're very welcome thank you!
@@IndieMusicAcademy what should i do when it says no application available ????
This was absolutely excellent. Thank you so much for this.
Thanks John! I'm so glad it helped you in the process of registration!
Thanks for sharing! This helped us out tremendously.
Thanks Ryan! :) Definitely helpful as I begin putting my music on BMI. The Publishing vs Writing thing is definitely confusing for newbies (me) haha
My pleasure!
Send this video to someone who needs to get their act together and register their music!!!
I may need your help
@@A3CoTownSmoke How can I help?
@@IndieMusicAcademy so if i my music is distributed through distrokid and they collect my money through streaming sites specifically would I still need to register?
@@btw2217 Yes, yes, yes, and YES!!!!! Distrokid does not pay you all your royalties. To get a better grasp of how the money flows, check out our guide called Music Royalties Explained: www.lionbold.com/blog/music-royalties-explained
Are you Defensive because I sent the link? I'm just trying to understand it all myself. I sent that because what you said and what he said are not the same. I'm not looking to start anything just trying to understand. If you did happen to take a look at it I'm sure you noticed it was different from what you said. I know 88 beats has more followers and many more views and all thumbs up so it cant all be not true.
Hey thanks this was very helpful and carefully explained appreciate the walk through Ryan Waczek...
Thanks for the comment, you're very welcome!
Thanks!! Great information you made very simple. I appreciate it.
Thanks, this was really informative
Thank you!
Thank you man I needed this
You got it bro.
Loved the video you walked me right through the process I really appreciate it
I'm so glad it made the process easier!
BEST Tutorial I’ve found so far explaining Song Registration with BMI...THANKS!
It's an honor, thank you. New content coming soon!
Yeah...so, after viewing your tutorial, I went to my BMI account (created over 3 years ago) & filled out my very 1ST Song Registration form. 1 DOWN...137 to GO! :) If you happen to revisit this same tutorial topic...I’d be interested in having you explain a little more in detail the section in the registration where it asks...”Was this work created for Film, TV, Theater or Music Library?” In particular, I’m interested in what’s meant by “Music Library.” Are they refering to commercial Song Listing Services? Or perhaps having a Song Catalog with a service? Just wondering...Thanks again for a GREAT tutorial! I’ve SUBSCRIBED to your channel.
@@hkkendall7150 Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, a lot of people get confused by the music library part because they don't use music libraries on a day-to-day basis. Basically, if you have signed a contract with a music library company and you are registering a song that is going to be used by that library under that contract, then you would check this box. Otherwise, any other song that is commercially released on iTunes and Spotify would leave that box unchecked (even if it finds its way into a library eventually). Weird question I know, basically they are just wondering the intended purpose of the music.
Very informative don't know if you did already but I Would love to know more about publishing rights and the roll of a publisher and the process to register one. Thank you
Hi Yes! I made this video: ua-cam.com/video/F99X0G8Ih48/v-deo.html
Hopefully that helps!
helped us alot! thank youuuu!
You are very welcome!
Thank you Ryan this is so helpful. Really appreciate your support ;D
You’re welcome!! Thanks for watching :)
this was extremely helpful as I've been doing it wrong for years, :O I probably have crazy royalties to claim. Thank you so much for your help!
Great information, Ryan. Helps out a lot, but do you have any videos on how to be able to publish your own material ? I am looking into creating my own label to release original material and any information from you would be a big help to me. I'm a songwriter, but have never ventured into this area. Thanks and keep the great videos coming. I've subscribed.
Hey Mantunes, I don't have any videos like that yet but I'll work on some! Thanks for putting that request out there!
Hey, I am not sure if you saw, but I released a video on registering music as a Publisher on BMI. I hope this is along the lines of what you needed: ua-cam.com/video/F99X0G8Ih48/v-deo.html
Hey Ryan! Your video and answers to people's questions are extremely helpful. Thank you very much!!! However, there is still a couple of things that isn't completely clear to me. 1) I wrote and composed the lyrics to the song. But where do I list the producer of the music? Is it under Composer/Author too? --- 2) Until now, I've been an independent artist. I recently accepted an offer to come under a record label. Does that mean that I list them as the publisher? At 100%? Or 50%? And where does that come in with the first question??? Do I list the label at 50% the producer at 50% and myself at 100% to equal the 200%? --- I wrote the lyrics and I am the artist performing it, except for the actual music part...
Your answer will be soooooo helpful, because this is kinda holding me back on some levels.
Thank you, in advance!!!!
Did you ever get an answer to this i have a smiliar dilemma
@@Nottz4Lyf18 Hi. No I didn't get a response to my question. However, Tony (from Disc Makers) was good about replying directly to a question that I asked him, and I'm moving forward. So, try reaching out to him. His info is usually posted with all of his videos on UA-cam.
@@apriljenkins5673 thanking you i’ll go hunting for thag
Super helpful my friend !! Thanks for sharing the knowledge with us 🎙🙌👏
You are welcome!
You are welcome!
Awesome job, excellent video!!! Keep up the good work
Thank you!
Ok you typed words into a box, how does BMI associate the words with your actual recording? Do you upload the song???
Same question
Hi Ryan! Love all your tips. I recently posted a live performance of an original song to UA-cam, but I do not have an actual recording officially released to streaming platforms. Should I still register my song with BMI or wait until there is a recording? Also for the step that asks "Is there a recording" do they mean a studio version or any version, like my UA-cam video?
Hey Carly McClain! Yes I would register every song you intend to show publicly. And no it doesn’t have to be a studio recording. It can be any recording even a home recording. Hope that helps!
Great info and walk-through, thanks. I may never release anything that I’ve created, but this still seems like insurance to me(in a good way)🙂
You never know what the future holds! Thank you so much for the comment!
Perfect Video for Beginners! Definitely helped me.
Appreciate the informative video man. How would you go about registering an entire album? would you register the songs individually or register the album as a one body of work?
You technically do each song one at a time, but if you are registering an album, the very last step of song registration asks if you want to copy the data you just inputted for the next song submission. So in essence, all you would have to do is change the track title and then resubmit when doing an album.
@@IndieMusicAcademy thanks a lot 🙏🏾
@@IndieMusicAcademy I'd like to jump in here and piggyback on this guy's question too please- so I understand that we have to register each song one at a time, but there's a section that asks you if the work is either an album, ep, or single -so my question is: if the song is from an ep or album, do you just put ep or album, or would you list it as a single (even though it was released as a track on an album or ep) ?
Thanks for the info!
You are very welcome! Thanks for being a subscriber!!!
Great tutorial! I'm starting to release my own music so this helped me a lot! Thanks! Gave this video and like and I will subscribe!
Great Information. Easy to follow. Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
I think you deserve more Subs bro
Do I register each song individually or the album. How do they know the song names of the album? So confusing.
Thanks, I was unsure about who my Publisher was but you cleared that up. Thanks!👏
Good video mate. You showed it in a very simple way.
Are you supposed to register your song after you publicly release it on streaming platforms or are you supposed to do it before the release?
before
Question: Would a beat maker/composer or producer who sells an instrumental to an artist with royalties in the agreement need to do the “works registration” as well? Or does the artist who purchased the track do the works registration and simply adds the composer/producers BMI info and the producer gets paid once the artists puts their music out there?
Thank you for your time and the awesome vid!
I need this answered!
I need this answer too ngl
x
3yrs and surprisingly, noone ever answered this. Incredible!
Yes you do
This is amazing explanation video ! Thank you so much :)
Thank you!
Great walkthrough. Thank you!
How would you add a producer or any other position to the credits so they can get a %? Do only writers get credit? Or would you just consider them a composer/author?
Same question i got
Same here bro I'm confused because the exclusive license to the beat I got says I get 50% & the other 2 get 25% each but I dont know whether to fill them in as composer or author because I wrote the entire song myself
the producer is considered the writer when registering with BMI. They look at it as if the producer wrote the notes for the beat.
@@YvngTrillOfficial have you tried googling or going to their official website? just curious I had the same question and figured I'd ask before I go searching
Question...As a hip hop producer I use my samples from Splice and their fine print states that there samples are royalty free. That being said, I can select yes and be okay?
did you get an answer to that?
@@gingermane nope.
@@badh0mbr342 royalty free is royalty free. it's why you pay the fee to have access to all of those samples.
Great video by the way. Thanks for this
You're welcome!
Bro u so good at explaining. Thanx alot for this video u helped alot
Thanks for the kind words. So glad!
what if you're a co-writer on a work that was already registered by the other writer via ASCAP? Do I still have to register the work to BMI, with my info matching the info in the submission to ASCAP by the other writer?
Did you find out?
My question is, how can a song be completely registered without attaching the mp3 or lyrics of it ? How can BMI collect the royalties of a song they only know the name ?
this is a great question, please answer this INDIE MUSIC ACADEMY!
It can't you have to register it online first. Best bet, copyright it first then hand it over to BMI or whomever is in distribution of it
Its simple. That's the reason why they ask you for your publisher's details. It's all connected.
This is why I going to ascap
Very informative, thanks a lot for doing this!
You're very welcome. Thank you for watching and subscribing!
Hello, what a great, concise explanation. I'm about to sign up as a songwriter. In the agreement it says I will need to submit works within 10 days of signing. What if I have the vocal recordings & lyrics recorded/finished in my home studio ( at least a rough draft version) but I do not yet have the music backing track from a music producer..yet? Should I hold off on signing up until the songs I'm working on are COMPLETE including the backing track? OR did I misunderstand the legal verbiage?
How long does it take for your song to be accepted once submitted?
And what happens next after you submit it?
Where’s the answer to this question at b!?!
Very helpful video, thanks! Quick question: How do you submit an actual recording of your music (or sheet music) to BMI? In other words, how can BMI determine if your song is being played or used by another entity if BMI doesn't have the recording of your song or some other documentation which can be used to identify it? Thanks!
Exactly, nobody seems to wanna answer this question on yt
I read from another video that you would only need the ISWC number for the song...
THANKS FOR THIS IMFORMATION THIS WAS VERY HELPFUL, AS A SONGWRITER WITH BMI AS MY P.R.O.
Thanks Troy! So glad you are getting your original music registered. Well done!
Amazing video in step by step... One small question, let's say the song created is instrumental genre for film music but it wasn't created for film instead a online competition. Do I still press for film under the Film TV Theater or library music tab button?
Also you mentioned samples. What if I have license libraries that contain samples or do I just say no assuming my music is ready to go since they're licenced.
Thanks Ryan for such a crystal clear explanation and video. If I am using Kontakt libraries that i have bought, should i fill Yes or No in "Does this work contains samples/medleys"? Your help is really appreciated.
The answer is no right?
6:35 what exactly does "Publisher" mean? For example is distrokid a Publisher? I don't know if Publisher and Distributor is the same thing lol..
and how would the split work then? - 100% distrokid and 100% for myself??
Thank you!!
MorpheuZmusic I’m stuck at this point as well. I’d like to get a response on this question.
Hey guys, I made this guide because this is a really common question, but also really long to explain. Please read the third answer: www.lionbold.com/blog/music-industry-myths-that-cost-you-money
DO NOT GIVE DISTROKID OWNERSHIP OF YOUR SONGS
Give yourself 200% in the songwriting
Thank You very much for this video! It is sure helpful!
Thank you so much, I’ve learned a lot!
You are very welcome!
Thank you for the video. One question - how do I actually collect the roylaties?
I mean, is it on the Royalty Statment thingy on the left?
If so, and that section says "there are no royalty statements" - does this mean that I'm broke? (like, have no money from my music yet?)
Excellent question. So, of course, it IS possible that you are broke, but let's assume you made one million dollars of performance royalties on BMI:
It can take around 6 months (or more) to get paid. For example, royalty statements for the money you made in December will appear in your account in June of next year.
You actually collect your money through Direct Deposit, so make sure you complete you BMI profile and put your checking account info in there so that BMI can drop that cash in your bank.
Hope that helps!
When submitting a song on BMI should I use my actual name or artist pseudonym under writer name?
It's my understanding that you should use your real name, then select add another artist and use that to input your stage name
@@apriljenkins5673 I believe this is incorrect. Your real name is already aligned to your BMI log-in profile account. Your artist name should accompany the song entry.
it will ask for your AKA
Super helpful - thanks man!
Thank you 😊 for making this video.
I'm on CD baby is that consider a publishing deal ?
I had the same question...
No it's not. A lot of confusion comes in because CD Baby has something called CD Baby Pro. People think this is a publishing deal, but it is something different called Publishing Administration. CD Baby Pro's Publishing Admin Services is actually in partner with Songtrust. Songtrust is also a publishing administration service. They collect your publishing royalties in exchange for a cut as a service fee. Songtrust is awesome because they hunt down royalties for you, but If the song never becomes popular, then it doesn't matter.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have more questions.
No
IMA: Do NOT use samples!
Every 80s rapper who made it big: Are we a joke to you?
Lol 😂
thank you.. very thorough and helpful
This was great! Thanks so much!
That is strange. I was expecting uploading an audio file itself. I see no connection between music piece and registered song name except duration.
hmm true
I got a question, what if you didn’t produce the song how would I go about adding the person who produced it?
VERY HELPFUL!! Thank you!..😊
Fantastic informative and helpful video! One question: When registering a song I composed (melody, rhythm, harmony, form, etc) using Public Domain lyrics (in this case an ancient Christian prayer), should I choose Music & Lyrics or Music only for work content? Also, I have a separate instrumental & vocal version of this composition already recorded. Should I then register each version separately (choosing music & lyrics for the vocal version and choosing music only for the instrumental version.)
So if I am working with a producer and he made the beat and i wrote the song we each get 100 for writers
If I'm a producer and release my tracks through a distributor like Distrokid, do I need to register my songs with BMI? Distrokid already sends me royalties for Spotify plays, so is there a need for BMI in my situation?
Hi, I get this question a lot and the short answer is that YES you need BMI. There are multiple types of royalties out there and Distrokid is not enough. More info explaining this can be found here: www.lionbold.com/blog/music-industry-myths-that-cost-you-money
HALSYON Distrokid is NOT a publisher. You need to check out my article where I explain the difference: www.lionbold.com/blog/music-industry-myths-that-cost-you-money
Video was a great help!!
Awesome. Thanks for the kind words!
Man this was very helpful, thanks a million
Glad it helped!
What if ur song is not out yet but u want to release it soon do u still click no on “are there any artist” and “are there any recordings” because I still want to release my song but idk if BMIs gonna track it since I clicked no
Since BMI collects and pays out Performance Royalties which could be generated with or without a recorded song (for example, playing your song live in a bar will still get you a performance royalty) the fact that you checked the box no doesn't really matter because BMI doesn't use the recorded audio to track down your royalties. BMI looks for the reported usage of your song which is reported by venues, radio-stations, television productions, and other performers.
In short, don't worry about it. If you're registered, then you're all set. Now focus on getting opportunities for your music to be used.
@@IndieMusicAcademy what if I'm registering my beat only? Let's say I name a beat "life" and the artist records a song and published lyrics and names the song "money" how does that publishing payout workout? Who gets paid?
RT Production you don’t register beats on BMI. You need to have either used a work for hire agreement (link in description) to get paid for the best, or negotiated a songwriting split for use of the beat to get songwriting royalties on the SONG. Beats aren’t songs because they aren’t finished. Songwriting splits sheet also linked for you in bio.
@@IndieMusicAcademy dam I registered my beats already. What would I do to fix that now?
RT Production just leave it. It won’t earn any royalties but what’s done is done and it doesn’t “hurt” anything. What you need to do is make sure that your proper splits are reflected in the finished song with the vocals. Track down the artist and see what’s up with those splits. If he paid you money, you might not be entitled to any splits. It all depends on your work for hire agreement. If you don’t have one, download the free contract in the bio so you can get your clients squared away
So i don’t need any payment for releasing my song on BMI so basically it’s free??? Is it free??
Jack Omari okay but they will license my song?. Like at the end of my description they will put “UA-cam Licensed” like that?
@@JezreelRanan no, BMI is only for royalties
thanks for this, it helped me register my songs
I just finished watching BMI's video explaining the registration process and I was still unsure about step 3. Being that I'm self published, I was wondering if I had to add a publisher.
I've watched some of your other videos and I had complete confidence that you would clarify! Thank you so much!
Hey, BMI member here. If you do not have a publisher, BMI considers the songwriter to be the publisher and pays the songwriter that portion of the performance royalties. If you have actually created your own publishing company as a songwriter, then enter that name and BMI will pay you anyway.
@@peterk5124 Thank you, I found this helpful!
Very helpful. Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing this!!!
Thanks so much. I love all information.
Thank you! Very informative!!
Very helpful! Thank you. 🙂
Thanks so much for this, as I'm getting ready to go through this process. When they ask if a work is for film or TV, are they asking if that was its original purpose, or if you're ever gonna try to get it licensed for film or TV?
Thank you for the class!
Thank you! So helpful!
super helpful dude thank you
Hey Ryan, thanks for the awesome vid! Do you have anything on split sheets and registering songs with multiple writers?
I need the answer to this one too✨
Great video! Do you have to attach the music and lyrics separately or sung together? Thank you!
This was helpful thank you man 👍
Thanks! Glad to help!
@@IndieMusicAcademy When the song is finally released, do you go back and add information?
Great video! Thank you!
Are there any requirements to the recording format? Like sample rate, etc?
Thank you.
Thank you very much, great job!
Great video! Thanks for the wonderful step-by-step! Question: I haven't released any of my songs yet, but something should come out soon on YT, IG or TikTok. Should I wait to join BMI until something is released? I believe someone said something about an artist needing to have at least one song released before joining a PRO. Is this true? (I'm almost finished with my application, too, but don't quite understand the second document.) Thanks again for your help!
Alright I just needed to know about using samples part really.
time to make put that drone and ambient on there.
Thank you for this explication ❤️❤️
Very useful tutorial! I am just particularly interested - is BMI free to register your songs? Does BMI charge any hidden fees, annual fees, fees for registering music and does BMI have any ownership in my music? And also is the publishing company that I use ( for example Distrokid, Ditto,...) important? I mean is it an important step while registering? Thanks a lot!
Amazingly explained! Do you have to put your legal name when as a writer or the artist name works?
Great vid, very helpful