Hundreds of Airings for Nivea Commercial Across Europe

[mmuser]

Hi everyone,

My music was used in a Nivea commercial that aired across multiple European countries, including Germany, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, and Greece. I was able to detect hundreds of detections in Germany and Italy via TuneSat, but I also found many others in other countries through YouTube. In Germany and Italy, the earliest detection dates back to November 5, 2020, on SAT.1 (AT), and the most recent one on January 10, 2022, on RAI Uno.

I read the very informative article I found here, explaining how to track and claim royalties for commercials airing in the U.S. using TuneSat and Numerator.

I’ve been registered with BMI for the past 8 months (I’m Greek-based). Does anyone know if there’s an official process to report these detections for European airings? If so, which BMI email should I contact?

I also know that the track was purchased from Pond5, and interestingly, I saw that Pond5 themselves used it in one of their featured videos around the time it was purchased.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

[Art Munson]

Try this: https://www.soundmouse.com/BMI/

[mmuser]

Thanks, Art! I appreciate the suggestion.

I uploaded my entire catalog to Soundmouse three months ago and BMAT about a month ago (I’ve been with BMI for 8 months). The issue is that these airings happened 3-4 years ago, so I’m wondering if there’s still any hope of collecting royalties by emailing BMI or if there’s another process I should follow.

It just feels frustrating to have a track played in a major European campaign for 2-3 years across dozens of TV channels and not receive any royalties.

Beyond this, I’ve also detected other usages through my free TuneSat accounts. One of my tracks aired for 3-4 years on Spanish-language channels in the U.S. (Galavisión, Univision, Telemundo), but I can’t understand the TuneSat sample to identify the commercial and track it down on Vivvix.

Additionally, I’ve had detections (past and recent) across multiple channels in the U.S., UK, Italy, and France, including Discovery ID, REELZ, Sky News, CBS, and PBS (WLIW).

Is there a way to directly report these to BMI myself? Or is there any service that helps composers collect royalties for these kinds of detections while taking a percentage?

Thanks again!

[Art Munson]

I’ve found the best way is to call BMIs commercial division in Nashville. I had something similar happen with a US commercial that had not been reported. They were great, sorted it quickly and sent me a check for 4 figures, and that commercial turned into 5 figures.

My commercial reporting was only behind about 6 months. International takes longer and I’m not sure they will go back years. Best to call them.

[mmuser]

Thanks, Art! Appreciate the advice.

I’ll give it a shot, though my past attempts to call the U.S. haven’t gone too well—let’s say they involved days of trying, endless hold times, and a +$25 phone bill without ever managing to speak to anyone (BMI and Payoneer were part of that fun journey). Hopefully, the Nashville office will be easier to reach!

My spoken English isn’t top-notch and it’s challenging for me to explain something this complicated over the phone. So I’m thinking of trying an email before calling (that’s worked for me with them, even if delayed). I can’t find a specialized email for this specific issue, so I’ll probably start with the Nashville office email (I also saw there’s a European contact in their London office which might be more relevant)

Thanks again!

[Author]

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