BMI has finalized a settlement with the Radio Music License Committee that establishes U.S. radio royalty rates spanning 2022 through 2029, and the company calls it the biggest rate increase it has ever secured for airplay. Retroactive to January 1, 2022, the accord resets what stations pay to license BMI-affiliated music.
Broadcasters Now Face Updated Royalty Percentages
Per the settlement, stations will owe 2.14% of gross revenue for 2022 and 2023, climbing step by step until it reaches 2.20% for 2026 through 2029. These figures supersede the 2017-2021 contract, which had set the rate at 1.78%. Filings submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York indicate certain deductions may apply, contingent on how the revenue in question was earned.
The agreement puts to rest a protracted legal battle between BMI and the RMLC concerning royalties for the 2022-2029 window. BMI characterized the outcome as an unprecedented rate hike reflecting its standing in the radio marketplace. The company further stated that the new arrangement guarantees fairer compensation for its songwriters whenever their music airs on radio.
Coverage Extends Backward to the Start of 2022
Because the deal is retroactive to January 1, 2022, the rates it sets now apply to a span that started more than three years before the agreement was announced. On its licensing page, BMI labels this pact as the finalized fee structure for its Radio Station Blanket/Per Program License Agreement, running from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2029.
This backward-looking design matters because the two parties had continued operating without settled terms for part of the years the agreement now addresses. According to the original account, the prior five-year licensing cycle, spanning 2017 to 2021, was not resolved until 2020 and likewise required retroactive payments.
Predictability for Stations, Stronger Footing for BMI
BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill stated that the organization pushed for a rate mirroring its position as the top source of music played across the nation’s radio stations. He noted this marked the largest rate increase BMI has ever won in the radio industry and said reaching a negotiated resolution was preferable to continued litigation. RMLC Chairman Ed Atsinger commented that the agreement gives American broadcasters predictability regarding the rates they will pay while cutting down on litigation costs.
The settlement marks another resolved episode in the ongoing tension between copyright holders and radio broadcasters over royalty compensation nationwide. Under the U.S. system, stations pay royalties to songwriters and music publishers for airplay, whereas performers and record labels receive nothing for the use of their recordings on the radio.
A Change in Ownership Adds Context
According to the source material, BMI underwent an ownership change last year when a shareholder group headed by private equity firm New Mountain Capital acquired the organization. Previously, BMI had long been owned collectively by a coalition of U.S. radio and broadcasting companies. This transition occurred after the negotiations behind the settlement rates had already been underway, altering the backdrop for how BMI approaches licensing discussions going forward.
The dispute also unfolded against a wider licensing landscape shaped by other performing rights organizations and industry maneuvering. Per the source text, an Inside Radio report from last year indicated that BMI’s negotiations with the RMLC were influenced by the emergence of Global Music Rights, which had drawn a sizable investment from Hellman & Friedman. That same reporting noted BMI’s argument before the federal rate court that it deserved rates comparable to what it believed GMR had secured from broadcasters.
ASCAP Reaches a Parallel Settlement
ASCAP separately announced its own agreement with the RMLC, saying it too locked in rates higher than those in its previous contract. The BMI settlement thus forms part of a broader wave of rate revisions affecting U.S. radio broadcasters and the major performing rights organizations. The source material notes that a 2022 attempt by the RMLC to merge its BMI and ASCAP rate court proceedings was rejected by a federal court in 2023, leaving the two cases separate.
With the retroactive start date confirmed and the new gross-revenue percentages fixed for the full term, the BMI agreement now serves as the governing rate framework for the 2022-2029 period.
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