BMI Royalty Statement: Registered Composition Interests

BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) is one of the major performing-rights organizations in the United States. A BMI royalty statement is a primary document that records the royalties an affiliate has earned from the public performance of registered compositions. The statement identifies each work by title and records the affiliate's registered share.

A BMI registration confirms that a named individual has a registered performance-rights interest in a composition -- a songwriter relationship recognized by the performing-rights organization. It does not independently establish who performed or recorded the work, or confirm any production, arrangement, engineering, or session role on a particular release.

Robert D. Palmer's career as documented in this archive is primarily in R&B, soul, and popular music. The BMI statement also includes 37 works in a reggae and dub style. The attribution of those works is the subject of a separate research note.

The BMI royalty statement lists 46 works with registered interests for Robert Donald Palmer.

Nine works in the statement correspond to compositions or projects already documented in this archive: Stickwitu (33.34%), Just Another Day (33.33%), Wanna Be Cool With You (50%), Soul Tattoo (50%), Thought You Might Wanna Know (50%), Rollercoaster (33.34%), For Thou Art With Me (33.50%), Christmas Only Once a Year (20%), and Fine Foxy Lady (50%).

For Stickwitu, the BMI evidence is consistent with and adds to existing verified evidence from official writer records and Grammy nomination records.

For Just Another Day, the BMI registration strengthens -- but does not independently confirm -- a possible connection to the A Cinderella Story (2004) soundtrack, where AllMusic lists Robert as a credited contributor. Song-level attribution requires liner-note or copyright database confirmation.

For Soul Tattoo, the BMI registration strengthens -- but does not independently confirm -- a possible connection to Plus One's The Promise (2000), where AllMusic lists Robert as a credited contributor.

For Wanna Be Cool With You, Thought You Might Wanna Know, Rollercoaster, For Thou Art With Me, Christmas Only Once a Year, and Fine Foxy Lady, the BMI registration establishes composition interests; specific recording artists and releases have not been confirmed from available sources.

The remaining 37 works (reggae and dub style) are discussed in the separate research note on Robert Donald Palmer's reggae and dub catalogue. Robert Donald Palmer was also known as 'Flako,' confirmed by his son Kary Youman; credits naming Robert Flako Palmer identify the same person. Specific recording artists and releases for these compositions remain under investigation.

The BMI statement was evaluated as a restricted tier-1 primary document. It was compared against all existing archive records to identify overlapping and new works.

For each overlap, the existing evidence status was reviewed to determine whether the BMI record strengthens, confirms, or is neutral relative to what was already established.

No existing record was downgraded or replaced by BMI evidence. Existing liner-note and publishing evidence, where stronger, was preserved.

The statement contains private financial, account, and address information. That information is excluded from all public records. The statement is cited generically as a BMI royalty statement issued to Robert Donald Palmer.