Performance Rights

A restriction limits the availability of performance rights for a particular play in a certain area during a specified period.

Restrictions are usually associated with a professional production, ensuring exclusivity in their area in advance of and throughout the duration of their run. Among other possibilities, a restriction may also reflect an ongoing or upcoming tour of the play, a major production on or Off-Broadway, or an author's wish to withhold production in a given city.

Our invoices/licenses include a W-9 form. If you need one in advance of placing an order, it may be downloaded here: W-9 Form - Broadway Play Publishing Inc.
Yes. If your organization or educational institution requires a purchase order, you may choose purchase order as the payment method on the checkout page. In addition, you may choose purchase order as the payment method when you submit your summary Box Office Statement and Final Payment (if any is due).

In both cases, you will be sent invoices referencing your purchase order numbers for you to submit to your accounting department for payment.

If your accounting department requires that you submit an invoice to them before they will generate a purchase order number for you, simply follow the instructions above and enter the text "Number to follow" in the purchase order number field on the checkout page and complete your checkout. When your organization provides you with the purchase order number, submit it to us via the Contact Us page, along with your order number for our reference, and we will add the purchase order number to your invoice. Note that shipment of books and other items will not occur until the purchase order number has been submitted.

Lastly, be aware that purchase of ePlays or other downloadable items must be done by credit card or PayPal. If your order also contains books or performance-rights applications for which you would prefer to use a purchase order number, then you should split the items up into two orders. Only one payment method may be used per order.

Yes, absolutely. Just be aware that purchase of ePlays or other downloadable items must be done by credit card or PayPal. If your order also contains books or performance-rights applications for which you would prefer to pay by bank transfer, check, or using a purchase order number, then you should split the items up into two orders. Only one payment method may be used per order.

Book purchases and performance-rights applications must be submitted through the website. We do not take telephone, faxed, or emailed orders. If this presents any difficulties for you, by all means Contact Us, and we'll find a solution for you.
While many publishing and licensing houses charge nonprofessionals a flat per-performance fee, our Nonprofessional Payments Schedule charges in a manner similar to how professionals pay royalties. The Schedule can provide nonprofessionals with the opportunity to produce plays with a smaller upfront investment (the Advance Payment) than would otherwise be required for a production in which all royalties are payable prior to the opening date. Equally, the Schedule provides authors with potentially greater compensation than they would otherwise receive from a per-performance-only production.

In the (unlikely) event that your production should do poorly at the box office, the Schedule requires no further financial obligations from you toward the play. The author has already received fair minimum compensation for the use of their work. In the event (we're confident) that your production fares well at the box office, you will now have box-office proceeds to additionally compensate the author up to their rightful 10%.

In a sense, the Schedule makes both the author and BPPI limited financial partners in your production. If you don't do well, neither do we. If you do well, we do too. We think that's right.

Use the appropriate Professional or Nonprofessional Performance Rights application and enter zero as the ticket price. The application will automatically calculate the correct per-performance minimums. If at any time during the run tickets are sold, submit your Final Payment and summary Box Office Statement as per usual within three business days of your closing date. Otherwise, with zero-ticket-price performance licenses, it is assumed that no box office was collected and no Final Payment is due, and your open license will be marked completed following your closing date.

The nonprofessional per-performance minimums are $150 for a full-length play and $75 for a one-act play. The professional per-performance minimums are $200 for a full-length play and $100 for a one-act play.
Use the appropriate Professional or Nonprofessional Performance Rights application and enter your minimum donation amount as the ticket price. The application will automatically calculate the correct per-performance minimums. The nonprofessional per-performance minimums are $150 for a full-length play and $75 for a one-act play. The professional per-performance minimums are $200 for a full-length play and $100 for a one-act play. If, at the close of your production, 10% of your donations exceeds the amount paid as minimums, a Final Payment is required.

For example, the minimum nonprofessional per-performance fee for a full-length play is $150. The author is due a minimum of $150 per performance or 10% of the house receipts, whichever is greater. Therefore, if you did one performance, your donations would need to exceed $1,500 before a Final Payment would be required. If two performances, your donations would need to exceed $3,000 before a Final Payment would be required. If three performances, $4,500, etc.

If your donations exceed these amounts, your Final Payment will be 10% of the excess amount.

For example, nonprofessional Theater X is accepting only donations for their three performances. Their minimum Advance Payment is $150 * 3 = $450. At the close of their production, their total donations are equal to $10,750. 10% of $10,750 = $1,075. Theater X subtracts their minimum Advance Payment of $450 from $1,075 to arrive at an overage amount due of $625 as Final Payment in order to ensure that the author receives $1,075, equal to 10% of the total donations.
There is no distinct pricing model for fundraising events. For example, say you wish to raise money to do a restoration of your theater. Your usual average ticket price is $10, but you set your ticket price at $25, with $15 of that earmarked as a donation towards the restoration. In your performance-rights application, you would enter an average ticket price of $10. Likewise, when you tally final box-office receipts, you would exclude the amount that has been earmarked. In short, the authors are entitled to 10% of the box office, excluding amounts publicly earmarked for fundraising.
So long as dress rehearsals are invitation only and admittance is free of charge, no additional performance fees apply.