BMI was founded in 1939 by forward-thinkers who wanted to represent songwriters in emerging genres, like jazz, blues and country, and protect the public performances of their music. BMI is currently the largest music performing rights organization in the U.S. and continues to nurture new talent and new music. BMI is the bridge between songwriters and the businesses and organizations that want to play their music publicly. As a global leader in music rights management, BMI serves as an advocate for the value of music, representing over 22.4 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers and music publishers.
