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I placed a song in a movie that is expected to have both a theatrical and a cable TV run. I placed the song myself and have never signed any of the publishing, etc over to anybody else. I am registered with BMI.

My question is...............do I have to be registered as a PUBLISHER in order to receive royalties from BMI? I am only registered as a writer currently.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Congratulations on the placement! That is very cool!

I believe BMI gives the writer publishing royalties if no other publishing company is attached. Maybe someone else would know for sure.

I don't know how BMI works as far as publishing, but just a head's up: In the US, there are no performance royalties paid for theatrical performances in film theaters. Yeah, it's the only place on earth like that, but that's the way it is!!

http://www.nrbmlc.com/?page_id=568

Scroll down to "The 1950 ASCAP Amended Final Judgment" for more on this historical precedent that hasn't been changed since it went into effect. The good news is the film will run on TV so you'll get royalties there. It would be a good idea to make sure the production company filed a cue sheet with BMI if you haven't already done so. No cue sheet, no pay!

Congrats on the placement!

Mazz

Great news for you with the movie, congrats! You might want to call your friendly rep. at BMI for definitive answers to all your questions...

IIRC, you don't have to register separately as a publisher if you own 200% AND you're BMI, but you might want to make sure they know that you're both author and publisher, even though it should be very clear from the cue sheets.

macmusic wrote:My question is...............do I have to be registered as a PUBLISHER in order to receive royalties from BMI?

If you assigned yourself the full 200% royalty amount when you registered the particular song in question, then you should get the full writer's and publisher's amount.