Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed. In 2009, BMI collected over $905 million in licensing fees and distributed $788 million in royalties.

BMI songwriters create all forms of music in all genres, from mainstream pop and country, to death metal. BMI represents artists such as Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Rihanna and Shakira; bands as diverse as Maroon 5, Evanescence, Nickelback, Linkin Park, Lady Antebellum and Death; legends such as Sam Cooke, Willie Nelson, Fats Domino and Dolly Parton; as well as composers such as Harry Gregson-Williams, John Williams and Danny Elfman and musical songwriters Richard & Robert Sherman.

In the 1930s, radio was coming to prominence as a source of musical entertainment that threatened to weaken record sales and opportunities for "live" acts. The Great Depression was already draining artist revenues from recordings and live performances. ASCAP, the pre-eminent royalty/licensing agency for more than two decades, required radio stations to subscribe to "blanket" licenses granting ASCAP a fixed percentage of each station's revenue, regardless of how much music the station played from ASCAP's repertoire. In 1939, ASCAP announced a substantial increase in the revenue share licensees would be required to pay. BMI was founded by the National Association of Broadcasters to provide a lower-cost alternative to ASCAP. As such, BMI created competition in the field of performing rights, providing an alternative source of licensing for all music users.

Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums. She has been noted for her ethereal visual style and symbolic lyrics. Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac on December 31, 1974, along with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham. Fleetwood Mac's second album after the incorporation of Nicks and Buckingham, 1977's Rumours, produced four US Top 10 singles (including Nicks's song "Dreams", which was the band's first and only US number one) and remained at No.1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks, as well as reaching the top spot in various countries around the world. To date the album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the eighth best-selling album of all time.

Nicks began her solo career in 1981 with the 8 million selling album Bella Donna, and she has produced six more solo studio albums to date. Her seventh solo studio album entitled In Your Dreams, and her first in ten years, was produced largely by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame and Glen Ballard and was released on May 3, 2011. After the release of her first solo album, Rolling Stone deemed her "The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll". Having overcome cocaine addiction, and dependency on tranquilizers, Nicks remains a popular solo performer. As a solo artist, she has garnered eight Grammy Award nominations and, with Fleetwood Mac, a further five, of which one was the 1978 award for Album of the Year for Rumours, which they won. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Nicks is known for her distintive voice, mystical visual style and symbolic lyrics as well as the famous (sometimes tense) chemistry between herself and former boyfriend and guitarist/vocalist in Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham.

John Joseph Lydon (born 31 January 1956), also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s. He is the lead singer of the post-punk band Public Image Ltd, which he founded and fronted from 1978 until 1993, and again from 2009. Throughout his career, Lydon has made controversial or dismissive comments about the royal family and other subjects. There has been a recent revival of a 1980s movement to have Lydon knighted for his achievements with the Sex Pistols. Q Magazine remarked that "somehow he's assumed the status of national treasure."

Lydon's personally crafted image and fashion style led to him being asked to become the singer of the Sex Pistols by their manager, Malcolm McLaren. With the Pistols, he penned singles including "Anarchy in the U.K.", "God Save the Queen" and "Holidays in the Sun", the content of which precipitated the "last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium" in Britain. The band caused nationwide uproar in much of the media, who objected to the content of Lydon’s lyrics, and their antics, which included swearing on live television, in which Steve Jones called Bill Grundy a "fucking rotter". Due to the band's appearance in the media, Lydon was largely seen as the figurehead of the punk movement in the public image although this idea was not widely supported amongst the punk movement itself. Despite the negative reaction that they provoked, they are now regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music.

Claude Kelly is an American singer-songwriter. He has a prolific discography, well known for writing for artists such as Britney Spears, Akon, Jason Derulo, Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton, Tamia, Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, Kelly Clarkson, Jay Sean, Adam Lambert, The Wanted, Jessie J and Charice.

He began playing the piano at the age of 3 and by middle school was playing the flute. He attended Riverdale Country School and then Boston's Berklee College of Music. He then returned to New York City. Through networking and word of mouth, Kelly met as many producers as he could, and by 2002 had written a song that ended up a compilation by A Bathing Ape. "It was a lucky break," he said. "It boosted my confidence."

Kelly got his big break when he wrote the song, "Daddy’s Little Girl" for Frankie J’s 2006 album, Priceless. Although it didn’t chart well, he said, watching his song go from recording to mixing to mastering to music video was the confirmation that he needed to press on. Kelly’s work so impressed Akon that in late 2007, the singer suggested Kelly write to some of his music, one of which was "Forgive Me", written for Leona Lewis’ debut album and produced by Akon respectively. Another song he wrote was "Hold My Hand" which was set to feature on Akon’s third album, however the song leaked and it was decided not to be included in the album. The song, which features Michael Jackson, is the first single to be released from Michael (Jackson's first posthumous studio album). At present, he’s working with Whitney Houston; and Christina Aguilera .

Eva Simons (Born April 27, 1984) is a Dutch singer-songwriter. She started her music career at 18 when she auditioned for the Dutch "Popstars the Rivals", eventually joining the girl group Raffish before leaving the group to focus on a solo career.

Raised in Amsterdam, Simons grew up in a family of musicians, with a pianist father and vocalist mother. Simons is a classically trained pianist and has been writing compositions since she was a child, getting her first record deal at the age of 13. She is also a graduate from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

In 2004, Eva decided to audition for the Dutch "Popstars the Rivals". She became a part of the girl group Raffish, receiving a golden record and several number 1 hits before leaving the group to pursue a solo career.

In 2009, Eva’s song “Silly Boy” gained popularity on the Internet. The song became one of the most notorious tracks online, generating over 20+ million views. After this success, she signed a worldwide deal at EMI. The song actually started out life as a demo idea for another high profile US female act, and gained much notoriety after Kayne West posted it in his blog, with Eva's vocal, and incorrect credits for the songs performer.