Three More Years For BMI’s O’Neill
• The Board of Directors of BMI announced that it has extended the contract of BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill for an additional three years, through December 31, 2029.
“Under Mike O’Neill’s leadership, BMI has grown into the most successful performing rights organization in the business,” said Pete Masucci, Managing Director of New Mountain Capital and Chair of the BMI Board. “With Mike’s ongoing guidance, BMI will continue to deliver on its commitment to modernize its infrastructure, invest in new technology and services and grow the value of its songwriters, composers and publishers’ music. Our decision to grant this extension demonstrates the confidence we have in Mike and the BMI team as they continue to innovate on behalf of the music creators they represent and ensure their ability to thrive in a changing industry.”
“I have never been more optimistic about the future of BMI, and there are only greater things ahead,” O’Neill added. “BMI’s mission to drive value for our affiliates, increase our distributions and ensure the long-term success of our family of songwriters, composers and publishers continues at full speed. I am delighted the BMI Board and NMC have the confidence in me and the incredible BMI team as we continue to work on behalf of our affiliates and licensing partners, invest in our company and position BMI for continued growth.”
Just over the past year, O’Neill has overseen a number of initiatives that reinforce BMI’s mission to protect and grow the value of its affiliates’ music. These include increasing distributions for BMI’s songwriters, composers and publishers by 13% in FY 24 — double the growth of its largest competitor, expanding headcount to support the Company’s service upgrades and value creation plans and investing in BMI’s technology to improve its product development and services. BMI also unveiled new online dashboards that provide songwriters and composers with even greater insight and transparency into their royalty payments, launched a new call center to improve customer service and partnered with Music Nation to establish a licensing infrastructure in the UAE.
In addition, BMI hired three seasoned executives for the roles of Chief Financial Officer, Chief Technology Officer and the newly created role of Chief Transformation Officer. O’Neill also oversaw the administration of the $100M allocation to songwriters, composers and publishers as a result of the BMI sale.
O’Neill joined BMI in 1994 as Director, Group and National Accounts from CBS-TV Network, and held a number of roles of increasing responsibility throughout his tenure, including Vice President, Media Licensing and Administration and Senior Vice President, Sales Administration, Licensing and Repertoire. In September 2013, O’Neill was named Chief Executive Officer, and assumed the additional title of President in July 2014. [Mike O’Neill Photo Courtesy of BMI]
