April 1, 2026

How to Register Your Songs With BMI: A Complete Walkthrough

Every song you write is both a creative achievement and a piece of intellectual property. The moment it is performed, streamed, or broadcast, it generates royalties that belong to you. The problem is that none of those royalties reach your account unless you have registered your works with a performing rights organization, and registered them correctly.

BMI, or Broadcast Music Inc., is one of the two major PROs in the United States and serves as the bridge between your compositions and the performance royalties they earn. This walkthrough covers the full process - from setting up your account and getting your IPI number to submitting works, managing co-writer splits, and understanding your payment schedule. One missed field or misspelled collaborator name can send your royalties into the black box, where unclaimed funds get redistributed to major publishers based on market share. This guide makes sure that does not happen to you.

BMI vs ASCAP: The Key Differences Before You Commit

The two dominant PROs in the United States are BMI and ASCAP, and as a songwriter you must join one before you can collect performance royalties. Both organizations do the same core job: collect performance royalties when your music is played on radio, TV, streaming platforms, venues, and other public outlets. The differences come down to fees, royalty calculation methods, and a few administrative details that matter more than most realize.

	BMI	ASCAP
Writer membership fee	Free	$50 one-time
Publisher setup fee	$150 one-time	$50 one-time
Royalty calculation	Formula-based (medium, time, type)	Survey-based with multipliers
Writer contract term	2 years, auto-renews	2 years, auto-renews
Can you switch PROs?	Yes, at end of contract term	Yes, at end of contract term
Open enrollment?	Yes	Yes

What You Can’t Change After You Join

Once you register with BMI or ASCAP, you are locked in for a contract term. BMI writer agreements run for two years and auto-renew unless you provide written notice. You cannot be a member of both organizations simultaneously as a writer - though a publishing entity can affiliate with a different PRO than the writer. This means if your co-writer is with ASCAP and you are with BMI, each PRO pays its own affiliate directly, which is completely normal and happens constantly.

Why Most Independent Artists Go With BMI or ASCAP

SESAC and GMR also operate as PROs in the US, but both are invitation-only, making them inaccessible to most emerging songwriters. BMI and ASCAP are open enrollment. Between the two, BMI has historically attracted a slightly larger share of independent and hip-hop artists, though this distinction has blurred over time. The practical reality is that both will collect your performance royalties effectively - pick one, commit, and put your energy into registering your catalog correctly rather than agonizing over which logo to put on your paperwork.

Setting Up Your BMI Account and Obtaining Your IPI Number

Creating a BMI account is free for writers and takes roughly ten minutes at bmi.com. Select “Join BMI” from the main navigation. You will need your legal name exactly as it appears on tax documents, your date of birth, your Social Security Number or ITIN, and a valid email address.

⚠️ Your Legal Name Must Match Everywhere — Exactly

The name you register with BMI must be character-for-character identical across every platform where you are registered: the MLC, SoundExchange, your distributor dashboard, and any foreign collection societies. A misplaced middle initial or missing suffix like “Jr.” can cause algorithmic matching failures that delay or prevent payment entirely.

Get this right on day one.

The Difference Between Writer and Publisher Accounts

BMI splits performance royalties into two equal shares: the writer share and the publisher share. If you do not have a publishing entity registered with BMI, BMI holds your publisher share until you create one. Setting up a BMI-affiliated publishing company costs $150 and allows you to collect both halves of every royalty payment.

Many independent songwriters skip this step early on and leave money sitting uncollected for years. If you are self-published - meaning no label or publisher administers your catalog - creating a publisher account is one of the highest-return administrative tasks you can complete. It effectively doubles the performance royalties flowing to you from BMI without any additional creative work required.

What Your IPI Number Is and Where to Find It

Your IPI number (sometimes called a CAE number) is a unique international identifier assigned to you as a songwriter or publisher. Think of it as your creative Social Security Number within the global music rights ecosystem. BMI assigns your IPI number automatically when your account is approved.

You can find it by logging into your BMI account and checking your profile page. You will need this number constantly: co-writers will ask for it when completing split sheets, and foreign collection societies require it if you register works in other territories. Keep it somewhere accessible and share it accurately - a transposed digit creates the same matching problems as a misspelled name.

Step-by-Step Guide to Registering a New Work

With your account active and your IPI number confirmed, you are ready to register compositions. Each song you register is called a “work” in BMI terminology, and the registration captures the metadata BMI uses to identify your song when it generates a performance anywhere in the world.

Navigating the BMI Works Registration Portal

Log into your BMI account and select “Register a Work” from your dashboard. The portal walks you through a series of fields: song title, alternate titles, genre, and whether the work contains a sample. Enter the title exactly as it appears on your distributed recordings - if your track is titled “Midnight Drive (feat. Alex Cole)” but you register it as “Midnight Drive,” the mismatch can prevent BMI from matching broadcast logs and DSP reports back to your registration.

Essential Registration Requirements and Split Sheets

Before registering any co-written song, you need a completed split sheet that specifies each contributor’s ownership percentage, PRO affiliation, and IPI number. The total must equal exactly 100 percent. BMI will ask you to enter each writer’s share during registration, and these figures must align with what all collaborators have agreed to in writing.

What Every Split Sheet Must Include

Song title and date of creation
Each writer’s legal name, PRO affiliation, and IPI number
Agreed ownership percentage for each writer (must total 100%)
Publisher information for each writer’s share
Signatures from all parties

Keep signed copies of every split sheet indefinitely. Ownership disputes are among the most common reasons royalties end up frozen or misdirected at BMI.

Adding Co-Writers and Publisher Information

During registration, add each co-writer by name and IPI number. If a co-writer is affiliated with ASCAP or another PRO, you still enter their information - BMI coordinates payment through reciprocal agreements between organizations. Assign publisher information for your share: if you have set up your own BMI publishing entity, select it here. If a third-party publisher administers your catalog, enter their details instead. Double-check every entry before submitting - corrections after the fact require a separate editing process that can take weeks.

What Happens After You Submit a Work

Once submitted, your work enters BMI’s database and receives a unique BMI work number specific to that composition. Most straightforward registrations are processed automatically and should appear in the BMI repertoire search within a few business days.

⚠️ BMI Registration Covers Performance Royalties — Not Mechanical Royalties

Registering with BMI covers only the performance royalty component of your composition. It does not cover mechanical royalties from streaming — those are collected by the MLC and require a completely separate registration. It also does not cover sound recording royalties from non-interactive platforms like Pandora, which are handled by SoundExchange.

A complete royalty setup requires all three registrations, and none of them communicate with each other automatically.

BMI handles one piece of the royalty picture. Mogul handles the rest — connecting to your existing streaming catalog and completing bulk registration across the MLC and major royalty databases so your mechanical royalties are captured at the same time as your performance royalties.

Start your catalog registration →

Registering Live Performances and Keeping Your Catalog Current

Your registered works only generate live performance royalties if BMI knows those performances happened. This is an area where many independent artists leave consistent income uncollected without realizing it.

How to Submit Setlists for Live Performance Royalties

BMI offers a setlist submission tool through its online portal. After any live performance at a venue that holds a BMI license, log in and report which songs you performed, the venue name, the date, and the city. BMI uses this data alongside its venue surveys to calculate live performance royalties. The process takes a few minutes per show. Building a habit of submitting setlists after every gig means your live work is captured in BMI’s payment calculations - most artists never do this and leave a meaningful income stream completely untouched.

Editing or Correcting a Registered Work

Mistakes happen. If you entered an incorrect split percentage, misspelled a co-writer’s name, or need to add a publisher after the fact, request edits through the BMI portal using the “Edit Work” option within your registered catalog. Changes involving ownership percentages may require confirmation from all listed writers. Plan on a processing window of several weeks for non-trivial corrections - which is exactly why getting the registration right the first time is worth the extra attention upfront.

Understanding the BMI Royalty Payment Schedule

Registering your songs is half the equation. Understanding when and how BMI pays is equally important for managing your expectations - especially in your first year when the lag between performance and payment can feel disorienting.

BMI Payment Schedule at a Glance

Distribution dates: Quarterly — January, April, July, and October
Domestic lag: 6–12 months between performance and payment
International lag: 12–18+ months (must pass through foreign societies first)
Payment method: Direct deposit available — always use it over paper check
Publisher share: Requires a separate BMI publisher entity to collect

Domestic vs International Payout Timelines

BMI pays on a quarterly cycle, but there is a significant delay between when a performance occurs and when you receive payment for it - usually six to twelve months for domestic performances. International royalties take even longer, often twelve to eighteen months or more, because they must travel through foreign collection societies before reaching BMI through reciprocal agreements. If you have meaningful international airplay or streaming activity, consider registering directly with key foreign societies to potentially speed up collection in those territories.

Setting Up Direct Deposit for Faster Payments

BMI offers direct deposit and there is no good reason not to use it. Paper checks add processing time and can be lost in transit. Set up direct deposit through your BMI account settings by entering your bank routing and account numbers. Payments arrive on the scheduled distribution date without delay once configured.

Why Your BMI Statement Doesn’t Show All Your Streaming Royalties

A common misconception is that BMI collects all royalties from Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms. BMI collects only the performance royalty component of streaming revenue for your compositions. The mechanical royalty component from those same streams is collected by the MLC - not BMI. And the royalties generated by your sound recordings on non-interactive platforms are an entirely separate stream handled by SoundExchange and your distributor.

If your BMI statement seems lower than expected, you are likely only seeing one slice of the royalty picture. The other slices require their own registrations with the MLC and SoundExchange. Mogul’s Royalty Finder shows you the full picture - which registrations you have in place, which ones are missing, and what income those gaps are likely costing you.

BMI Is One Registration. Your Full Royalty Picture Needs Three.

Once your BMI account is set up, Mogul handles the MLC and SoundExchange registrations your performance royalties don’t cover — in bulk, across your entire catalog.

Complete your registration →

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I be a member of both BMI and ASCAP at the same time?

No. As a writer, you can only be affiliated with one PRO at a time. You can switch organizations at the end of your contract term by providing written notice, but simultaneous membership is not permitted. Note that a publishing entity can be affiliated with a different PRO than the writer - so your publishing company could be registered with ASCAP while you as a writer are with BMI, though this is uncommon and adds administrative complexity.

Do I need to register every song I write, even unreleased ones?

You can register works before they are released, and doing so is generally a good practice for songs you plan to pitch or perform live. However, registration only becomes financially meaningful once the work starts generating performances. For most independent artists, registering at or just before release is the practical approach - it ensures the work is in BMI’s system before streaming platforms begin reporting plays.

What happens if a co-writer and I disagree on the split percentage after registration?

This is exactly why signed split sheets matter. If a dispute arises after a work is registered, BMI may freeze royalty payments on the disputed work until the ownership question is resolved. Resolution can involve mediation, arbitration, or legal action depending on the situation. The best protection is a signed split sheet agreed upon before or immediately after the writing session - not after the song is released and generating meaningful income.

How long does it take for a newly registered work to start generating royalties?

There is no single answer. BMI needs to receive usage reports from platforms and broadcasters, match those reports to your registered work, calculate the royalty, and include it in the next quarterly distribution. For a song that starts streaming immediately after registration, you might see your first BMI payment six to nine months later. For songs getting significant radio play, the cycle is similar. Patience is required - the system moves slowly by design.

Does BMI registration help with sync licensing?

BMI registration makes your composition searchable in their public repertoire database, which music supervisors and licensing professionals sometimes use to identify rights holders. However, BMI does not actively pitch your music for sync placements or negotiate sync deals on your behalf - that falls outside their mandate as a performing rights organization. Sync licensing typically involves direct outreach from music supervisors, licensing through a publisher or sync agent, or registering with dedicated sync licensing platforms.

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