How could one most efficiently create a playlist of BMI music?

January 16, 2015 9:24 AM

Suppose someone wanted to make a playlist of only music that was licensed by BMI for an event, to avoid paying ASCAP fees. Is there any short cut to avoid having to search for each individual song on the BMI web site? Has anyone already assembled and published some lists of BMI -only dance/workout/party type music?
posted by steinwald to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

To the best of my knowledge, songwriters/performers/publishers are able to become members of only one performing rights organization in a country at a time, which means their entire catalog will be with either BMI or ASCAP, so you could just search by the artist, not song-by-song. I suppose in some cases where the writers are not the performers (or some other kind of complicated writer/performer/publisher relationship), that info might be a little harder to find quickly, but going artist-by-artist should get you a fairly hefty playlist before you have to dig in to individual songs.

(Just in case, you're aware that BMI is the same kind of organization as ASCAP, yes? There will still be fees associated with a BMI playlist.)

Also, depending on the situation in which you're using the music, you may not be the one actually responsible for paying these fees - very very often it's the venue/bar/restaurant/meeting place/etc etc etc that's actually on the hook. So it might be worth investigating if performing rights fees are even something you have to concern yourself with.
posted by soundguy99 at 3:58 PM on January 16, 2015

Response by poster: We're paying for BMI, but can't afford to also pay for ASCAP, which for our type of event is disproportionately expensive. We want to follow all rules. It's definitely our responsibility.
posted by steinwald at 5:14 PM on January 16, 2015

Response by poster: Our events are small and we don't have an extra hundred-some dollars per event. It's for roller derby. ASCAP has a flat rate per event and BMI lets us pay a much much lower annual fee.
posted by steinwald at 5:41 PM on January 16, 2015

Response by poster: well, that is not the answer I was hoping for but it is useful. thanks.
posted by steinwald at 5:52 PM on January 16, 2015