Publishing
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Nashville music publishing executive Linda Patterson “Pat” Rolfe, who became one of the first women to lead a major music publishing company in the early 1970s, died of cancer on Friday (May 24) at age 77.
Rolfe, a Waverly, Tenn., native, was born July 27, 1946. She graduated from Waverly Central High School in 1964 and moved to Nashville, launching her music industry career in 1966 at music publishing company Hill & Range. While at the company — which became a dominant music publishing player in country music in the 1950s and 1960s — she joined Lamar Fike, a member of Elvis Presley‘s entourage who worked in lighting and helped oversee Presley’s music publishing. She also worked on hit songs by Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Eddy Arnold and bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe.
Rolfe was elevated to a leadership role at Hill & Range — rare for a woman executive in that era — when she was named GM at Hill & Range in 1972. She also brought Celia Froehlig into the company fold, with both staying on until Chappell Music acquired the Hill & Range companies in 1975. Froehlig would go on to hold senior roles at EMI Music Publishing and Black River Entertainment.
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Following the acquisition, Rolfe continued at Chappell Music, which was named ASCAP publisher of the year seven times during her tenure. She rose to the role of vp and held that role until 1987, when Warner Bros. Music acquired the company.
That same year, longtime ASCAP Nashville head Connie Bradley offered Rolfe a position as director of membership relations. While at the performing rights organization, Rolfe rose to the role of vp, bringing such songwriters and singer-songwriters as Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Wynonna Judd, Tony Mullins, Trevor Rosen, Hillary Lindsey, Gerry House, Josh Kear, Michael Knox and Chris Tompkins into the fold. She retired in 2010.
In 1991, seeking to further elevate women in the music industry, Rolfe teamed with Judy Harris and Shelia Shipley Biddy to co-found SOURCE, a nonprofit organization that supports women professionals in the Nashville music industry. She was inducted into the SOURCE Hall of Fame in 2012.
“We are heartbroken over the loss of one of our beloved Founding SOURCE members Pat Rolfe,” said SOURCE Nashville president Kari Barnhart in a statement. “Pat’s heart for recognizing and elevating the Women Behind the Music is a legacy that will continue to live on through the organization she lovingly helped build with our other founding members Judy Harris and Shelia Shipley-Biddy over 33 years ago. Pat remained dedicated to the organization as a member of the Source Awards Committee through the years.”
Rolfe also served on the boards of organizations including the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), Nashville Music Association and Copyright Society of the South.
Rolfe is survived by her husband of 54 years, Mack, as well as stepchildren John (Vanessa), Jim (Mary K) and Dick (Michelle); seven grandchildren; brothers Jim, Mike, Joe and Charlie Patterson; and sister Margaret Simmons. She was preceded in death by her parents, Marie and George Patterson, her brother Jerry Patterson and sister-in-law Ann Patterson.
A visitation with the family will be held on Wednesday (May 29) from 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at Green Hills Community Church in Nashville, with the funeral service set to begin at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations go to the Bonaparte’s Retreat Dog Rescue, the Green Hills Community Church or a charity of your choosing.
When Sabrina Carpenter signed with the Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) in October 2023, she was coming off the critical and commercial success of her 2022 Island Records debut Emails I Can’t Send, a project that established her as a formidable pop hitmaker with a distinct voice and a captivating appeal. But since that album’s release, her career has launched into the stratosphere, with a string of singles — “Nonsense” off the original Emails; “Feather,” which was released on the deluxe of Emails in August 2023; and, most recently, April 2024’s “Espresso” — that have each reached higher on the charts than the last, building her into a mainstream dynamo with song-of-the-summer hitmaking potential.
It’s been “Espresso,” however, that has truly captured the zeitgeist. The song zoomed onto the Billboard Hot 100 with a No. 7 debut, eventually reaching No. 4, but has done even better globally, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart — where it spends its second week this week, establishing it as a bona fide international hit. And through the work of her label at Island and her publishing company UMPG, that’s marked the highest chart placement of Carpenter’s career — and help earned UMPG co-head of U.S. A&R and head of UMPG’s global creative group David Gray the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Gray discusses the work UMPG has done with Carpenter in the six months since bringing her into the pubco, what sets her apart as a songwriter and the company’s global outlook. “She has always had a vision for herself as an artist and songwriter,” Gray says. “It’s rewarding to see her succeed at a global level and get all of the credit she deserves.”
This week, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” spends its second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and its fifth week in the top 10 of the Hot 100. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?
Overall at UMPG, we work to support our songwriters’ ideas and decisions in any way we can, whether putting together strategic writing sessions or working to secure great synch opportunities globally.
Sabrina signed with UMPG last October. What were your first conversations like with her about her music and where she wanted to go?
Sabrina talked about how the Emails I Can’t Send album was a step up from where she was before and she was ready to take it up to the next level from there. She has always had a vision for herself as an artist and songwriter. It’s rewarding to see her succeed at a global level and get all of the credit she deserves.
What sets Sabrina apart from other pop stars as a songwriter, and how have you helped to emphasize that?
Sabrina has such a unique and brilliant songwriting voice, both lyrically and melodically. All the years of doing sessions, working hard, taking songwriting very seriously and perfecting her craft has made her not only the artist in the writing session… but she is also an A-list-level songwriter talent-wise.
For the past two years you’ve headed up UMPG’s global creative group. How has that changed how you work with songwriters, and in what ways does it help your global reach?
At UMPG, we have always recognized that there are amazing writing opportunities for songwriters outside of their own territories. The number and quality of these writing opportunities has accelerated in the last few years. The communication between territories that the Global Creative Group provides is essential to making sure our writers get the best of these opportunities.
How are you preparing to deal with AI in the publishing world?
It’s still nascent in the broader creative community, but we know AI offers opportunities and risks. We embrace AI, just as we have other technology innovations in the past, but only AI technology that is ethical and artist-centric — in other words, only if it supports songwriters and protects their rights.
Lana Del Rey will receive this year’s NMPA Songwriter Icon award, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) announced today. The award will be presented at the organization’s annual meeting at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City on June 12.
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Del Rey, 38, has received 11 Grammy nominations (but, surprisingly, no wins yet). Her nods include three in songwriting categories – “Norman Fu—ing Rockwell” and “A&W,” both for song of the year, and “Young and Beautiful” (from Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby) for best song written for visual media. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe for co-writing “Big Eyes” from the Tim Burton of the same name.
“Lana Del Rey defines being iconic,” NMPA president and CEO David Israelite said in a statement. “Her influence is felt across all genres and has inspired the biggest artists in the business. Her songwriting is deeply personal, and she continues to innovate – bringing fans thought provoking lyrics and indelible style.”
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Savan Kotecha will receive the NMPA Non-Performing Songwriter Icon award. Kotecha has received Grammy, Golden Globe and Oscar nods in songwriting categories. He received a Grammy nod for best song written for visual media and a Golden Globe nod for best original song for “Love Me Like You Do” and an Oscar nod for best original song for”Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
“Savan Kotecha is virtually unmatched in his impact on pop music,” Israelite said in a statement. “He has helped craft the sounds for so many of the biggest hits of the past decade. We are thrilled to honor his continued success.”
The timeless ballad “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” co-written by Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti and George David Weiss, will be honored as an NMPA Iconic Song. Elvis Presley’s original hit version of the song, recorded for his 1961 film Blue Hawaii, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. UB40’s reggae-tinged cover version, recorded for the film Sliver, spent seven weeks at No. 1 in 1993.
Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) will receive the NMPA President’s award for his work to support creators.
Additionally, Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl will sit down for a keynote conversation. Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter will discuss the current challenges of protecting intellectual property.
The results are in: for the first quarter of 2024, Warner Chappell earned the top spot on the Country Airplay publisher rankings for the second quarter in a row.
With a 33.08% market share, WCM, helmed in Nashville by president/CEO Ben Vaughn, is the top publisher. This is thanks to the shares the publisher had in eight of the top 10 songs of the quarter. Overall, it also had stakes in 68 of the quarter’s top 100 Country Airplay songs, including Country Airplay No. 1 Nate Smith’s “World On Fire,” HARDY’s No. 2 “Truck Bed,” and Warren Zeider’s No. 3 track “Pretty Little Poison.”
Apart from Sony Music Publishing’s five-consecutive-quarter reign at No. 1 from Q3 of 2022 to Q3 of 2023, Warner Chappell has consistently held the quarterly top country music publisher title in Nashville, dating back to about 2017.
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This quarter Sony Music Publishing held in second place with a 20.04% market share on the Country Airplay chart. SMP has shares in 51 of the chart’s songs including the top two tunes this quarter, which are both thanks to its tie to one of Nashville’s biggest hitmakers Ashley Gorley, who sold his catalog and signed a go-forward deal with SMP (in partnership with Domain Capital Group) in May 2022. For the first quarter, Gorley ranked as the top country songwriter, with a co-writer stake in 16 of the period’s Top 100 Country Airplay songs.
The rest of the market share for other companies on the Country Airplay chart lags far behind Nashville’s top two publishers. BMG comes in third, for example, with 8.18% market share, which is slightly more than two percentage points up from where they were last year in Q1 with 6.09% Country Airplay marketshare. It is the first time BMG has ranked above major publisher, Universal Music Publishing Group, since Q1 of 2018. Top songs for the publisher this quarter include Cody Johnson’s “The Painter,” the No. 4 song on the Country Airplay chart, and Chayce Beckham’s “23,” the No. 8 tune.
Universal Music Publishing Group holds the fourth spot this quarter with 6.85% market share on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Just three quarters ago, UMPG had an especially good quarter with a 12.71% ranking — about double what it reached this time. Top songs for UMPG include Thomas Rhett’s “Mawmaw’s House,” the No. 5 song and Scotty McCreery’s “Cab in a Solo,” the No. 15 tune.
Looking at the rankings from No. 5 to No. 8, Kobalt ranks fifth in market share for the Country Airplay chart at 5.78%; Big Machine Music slightly surpasses Concord at 4.11% to 4.10% market shares, respectively; Spirit Music ranks eighth with 2.02%.
The ninth largest publisher on the Country Airplay chart belongs to Purple Rabbit Music, the publishing company that represents songwriter Tracy Chapman. The spot represents the continued impact her song “Fast Car,” which was covered by Luke Combs last year and performed by the two artists together at the Grammy awards earlier this year. Its placement in the rankings represents its debut for the Top 10 Country Airplay publishers.
Lastly, Anthem brings up the end of the Top 10 Country Airplay publishers with a 1.87% marketshare, a tick below Purple Rabbit’s 1.88% share for the quarter.
Last CPQ: Tracy Chapman and Oliver Anthony Make History
Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has signed a global publishing deal with 4-time Grammy nominee and jazz/R&B star Patrice Rushen. Known for her work with artists like Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock and Prince, Rushen is also celebrated for her groundbreaking role as the first female musical director for top award shows, including the Grammys and Emmys.
Reservoir Media has acquired the producer royalties and publishing catalog of the late hip-hop producer-songwriter Deon “Big D” Evans, best known for his work with Tupac Shakur. Evans, acclaimed for producing hits like “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and the Grammy-nominated “Changes,” significantly shaped hip-hop and collaborated with other notable artists like Digital Underground and Ne-Yo.
Brandon Silverstein Publishing and Avex USA have teamed up to sign Kavi to a worldwide publishing deal. While the 21-year-old producer is perhaps best known for his hit song “Million Dollar Baby” by Tommy Richmond, which recently reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B chart, Kavi has also crafted the sound of other talents, including Yeat and KanKan.
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Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has signed a global publishing deal with songwriter and producer Toby Daintree, known for his work with Artemas on hits like “i like the way you kiss me” and “if you think I’m pretty.” Daintree, a multi-instrumentalist, has also collaborated with artists such as FKA Twigs and Joy Crookes, and will now work closely with WCM UK’s team to further his career.
Armada Music‘s BEAT Music Fund, its dance music investment fund, has expanded by acquiring the artist and songwriter royalties for Jax Jones‘s catalog, including shares of “You Don’t Know Me” with RAYE and “All Day and Night” with Madison Beer and Martin Solveig. It has also acquired the artist shares of Australian singer/songwriter AMBA SHEPHERD‘s catalog, including dance hits with artists like Hardwell, R3HAB, Porter Robinson, and QUIX. Lastly, BEAT is partnering with Sola Records on a joint venture, including signees Maur & FABER, Draxx and Majestic.
Sony Music Publishing Nashville and CAM Creative have signed country music songwriter Ryan Larkins to a global publishing deal. Known for co-writing Bill Anderson’s Grammy-nominated “Someday It’ll All Make Sense” and Cody Johnson’s #1 hit “The Painter,” Larkins has collaborated with legends like Tony Lane and Tom Douglas and recently released his debut EP with Red Street Records.
Writer-artist Matt Stell renewed his publishing deal with Endurance Music Group (EMG). The move comes as he preps the June 7 release of Born Lonely, his first full-length album to emerge since his 2019 signing with RECORDS Nashville. Every track on the project was co-written by Stell, who reached No. 1 on Country Airplay with his first two RECORDS singles, “Prayed for You” and “Everywhere But On,” both of which he also co-wrote. Stell joined EMG in 2020 when the publishing house purchased Wide Open Music. –Tom Roland
Position Music has inked a worldwide publishing deal with London-based songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Sam Merrifield. Merrifield, known for his work with artists like Lewis Capaldi, Marshmello and Mimi Webb, has recently contributed to hits like “American Psycho” and the UK Top 10 single “Good Without,” and has upcoming projects with Marshmello, Cheat Codes, and Zara Larsson.
Producer, songwriter, and composer Hilton Wright II has signed an exclusive global administration deal with Warner Chappell Music. Along with the deal, his media company, Seven15 Labs, has launched its music publishing division through an exclusive global administration and co-publishing deal with Warner Chappell, aiming to expand the reach and impact of Wright’s extensive catalog, which includes work with Big Sean, Mike Posner, and brands like Walmart and Ford.
Warner Chappell Music (WCM), alongside The Roots and Live Nation Urban, is launching the ‘Message in the Music’ songwriting camp from May 28th to June 1st in Philadelphia, coinciding with the Roots Picnic 2024 festival. The camp will honor Philly music legends Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell, showcasing their legacy and promoting contemporary local songwriting talent. Hosted by Ryan Press (WCM), Shawn Gee (Live Nation Urban), Pop Wansel, and The Roots’ Questlove and Black Thought, the camp aims to create opportunities for local writers and producers. Over 50 writers and artists, including top talents from Philadelphia and WCM’s roster, are expected to attend. Select songs from Gamble, Huff and Bell’s catalog will be available for sampling via WCM’s Beat Broker platform to mark the trio’s 60th Anniversary.
Concord Music Publishing has signed an exclusive worldwide administration deal with Emmy and Drama Desk-nominated composer and lyricist Eli Bolin, covering his entire catalog and future works. Bolin is renowned for his work on Documentary Now!, Sesame Street, Nine Perfect Strangers, and the Netflix special John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch.
Sony Music Publishing hosted its second annual SMP x BeatStars Hitmaker Week, a global songwriting camp held from April 1-5 in Miami, Florida at Circle House Studios. The event hosted 67 songwriters/producers and artists from around the world for collaborative writing sessions, educational workshops and more. This included Farruko, Brray, Nardo Wick, Rob 49 and ScarLip, among others.
Seeker Music has partnered with Latin record label and entertainment company MITH Media to jointly sign songwriters and artists, manage catalogs and expand into the LATAM and U.S. Latin-music markets. The first signings under this partnership are Grammy-nominated songwriter K. Sotomayor and singer-songwriter Dēlian, with plans to develop new projects and actively manage Seeker’s catalog in Latin America.
Boom.Records is entering a partnership with Warner Chappell Music to launch Boom.Publishing. WCM will administer the publishing rights for Boom.Publishing’s signees as well as offer more creative support through writing camps and sessions.
1916 Enterprises has welcomed multiple new songwriters to its publishing company. This includes Nashville-based songwriter Carly Paige, Los Angeles-based producer Jack Riley, and Olivia Kiene (through a joint venture with Sevs Publishing).
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has sent a letter to Judiciary Committee leadership in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, asking for the overhaul of the statutory license in section 115 of the Copyright Act, which “prevents private negotiations in a free market” for mechanical royalty rates for songwriters and music publishers in the U.S.
On May 20, David Israelite, the organization’s president and CEO, teased this announcement in a guest column for Billboard, saying: “soon we will unveil a legislative proposal to permanently fix the power imbalance songwriters face by being subject to a compulsory license for their songs.”
In his new letter, NMPA’s Israelite writes that doing away with the 100-year-old system of government-regulated price setting for songwriter and publisher royalties (specifically, mechanical royalties) and allowing rate negotiations to occur in a free market would prevent songwriters and publishers from being taken advantage of by “Big Tech:” “Those who do operate in a free market, such as record labels, have negotiated protections against bad faith tactics. However, music publishers and songwriters have no such leverage under the [Copyright Royalty Board] to do so.”
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For years, music publishers and songwriters have lamented that they do not get to negotiate for their U.S. mechanical royalty rate privately because of wording in section 115 of the Copyright Act, which places “non dramatic musical works,” like songs, under a compulsory license, dating back to 1909. The rate for that license is determined by a set of Copyright Royalty Board judges, who weigh the interests of the music business against that of tech companies like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and more to determine what they feel is a fair price for music.
Record labels, which work with “sound recording” copyrights, not “musical works,” are able to freely negotiate their rates, as are music publishers and songwriters outside the U.S. Because of the discrepancy between how U.S. music publishers and songwriters are treated compared to others, publishers feel that they are held back from getting the best rates possible.
The letter arrives just a week after music publishers, the NMPA, and the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) — which collects and distributes mechanical royalties for U.S. publishers and songwriters — waged a war against Spotify for paying a lower U.S. mechanical royalty rate for premium, duo and family plans, starting in March 2024. Spotify believes that the addition of audiobooks to premium, duo and family plans qualifies these tiers as bundles, a type of subscription that pays a lower royalty rate.
For days after this information was first reported, various music organizations made statements against Spotify, often calling its reclassification “cynical” and a “loophole” to pay songwriters less and takes advantage of the settlement made between music publishers, songwriters and streamers to agree on a rate structure for 2023-2027 (known as “Phonorecords IV”), which was approved by the Copyright Royalty Board judges.
In the NMPA’s letter — addressed to Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) — Israelite calls Spotify’s move a “manipulat[ion] [of] the compulsory licensing rules” and the latest in what he feels is the “continued abuse of the statutory system by digital services… [which] has made it clear that additional action by Congress is needed.”
On May 15, the NMPA sent a cease and desist letter to the streamer for hosting lyrics, music videos, and podcast content that contain their copyrighted musical works without a proper license. The next day, on May 16, The MLC joined in, filing a lawsuit against Spotify for “improperly” reclassifying its premium, duo and family plans and trying to get a discount, which would result in what Billboard estimates is a $150 million annualized reduction in U.S. mechanical royalties, compared to what they would have paid if these tiers never changed over.
In his new letter, NMPA’s Israelite proposes a solution for abolishing the current system, saying: “Congress should allow rightsholders the choice to license through the MLC using the statutorily set royalty rates or to withdraw from the MLC and operate in a free market if they meet certain conditions.”
He continues, “if copyright owners chose to withdraw their copyrights from the blanket license, currently administered by the MLC, they would be required to do the following:
Require all rightsholders who exercise this option to provide 6 months’ notice to the Register of Copyrights and the MLC;
Require that the withdrawing rightsholders ensure their musical work copyrights and ownership interests are registered in the MLC’s public database;
Require the MLC to flag those rightsholders and their catalogues as withdrawn from the MLC blanket license and subject to voluntary license negotiations; and
Require copyright holders to maintain with the MLC database current, up-to-date contact information, which would be used to contact for licensing.”
Read the full letter below:
Dear Chair Durbin, Ranking Member Graham, Chairman Jordan, and Ranking Member Nadler:
The Music Modernization Act (MMA) has offered not only songwriters and music publishers, but also digital service providers, unprecedented benefits. However, the bill has amplified the need for corrections to the century-old compulsory license governing their work.
Large, foreign-owned companies, like Spotify, should not enjoy unfair advantages over American songwriters because of outdated federal policy. By making one simple change, Congress can undo a more than 100-year-old mistake in the compulsory license and ensure songwriters and music creators continue to benefit from their creative efforts.
How did we get here? Almost six years ago, members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees came together to pass the MMA, a landmark piece of copyright legislation for the age of digital music streaming. The MMA took important steps forward in improving the compulsory license imposed on songwriters and music publishers by creating the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) to administer a blanket license under Section 115 of the Copyright Act, which is taken by digital music services.
The MLC increased transparency through a public database, furthered licensing efficiency through a central administrator, and improved the process for distributing musical work royalties. However, the benefits did not extend to, or remedy, the ongoing issues faced by rightsholders subject to the government rate-setting process.
The continued abuse of the statutory system by digital services, most recently Spotify, has made clear that additional action by Congress is needed. The royalty rates paid to musical work copyright owners for uses of those works under the Section 115 blanket license are set in a proceeding before the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), within the Library of Congress, once every five years. In these proceedings, music publishers and songwriters must face off against some of the biggest tech companies in the world: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Google, among others to establish rates for the use of musical works.
Because the law prevents private negotiations in a free market, publishers and songwriters have seen ongoing abuse of the statutory system and CRB rate-setting process with little ability for recourse. Most recently, Spotify has found a new way to game the statutory rate system to underpay rightsholders by hundreds of millions in royalties.
In March, Spotify began manipulating the compulsory licensing rules and reclassified its premium subscription music service, along with almost 50 million subscribers, into what it is calling a “bundle.” The benefit to taking this action is, under the compulsory royalty rates, bundles attribute less revenue – and therefore pay less in royalties – to the music than a premium subscription music service. Spotify has taken a part of its music service that was previously offered to consumers for free, audiobooks, and it is now calling audiobooks a bundle with its music service to substantially reduce the musical work royalties owed.
Those who do operate in a free market, such as record labels, have negotiated protections against these bad faith tactics. However, music publishers and songwriters have no such leverage under the CRB to do so.
Fortunately, there are solutions Congress can enact that would preserve the benefits of the MMA and the MLC while providing songwriters and publishers a better chance to compete on a level playing field with Big Tech firms like Spotify. Rather than picking who wins and who loses, Congress should allow rightsholders the choice to license through the MLC using the statutorily set royalty rates or to withdraw from the MLC and operate in a free market if they meet certain conditions.
If copyright owners chose to withdraw their copyrights from the blanket license, currently administered by the MLC, they would be required to do the following:
Require all rightsholders who exercise this option to provide 6 months’ notice to the Register of Copyrights and the MLC;
Require that the withdrawing rightsholders ensure their musical work copyrights and ownership interests are registered in the MLC’s public database;
Require the MLC to flag those rightsholders and their catalogues as withdrawn from the MLC blanket license and subject to voluntary license negotiations; and
Require copyright holders to maintain with the MLC database current, up-to-date contact information, which would be used to contact for licensing.
This would give rightsholders the option to stay within the current compulsory system or to operate within a free market. It would also restore basic principles of fairness to the market by requiring streaming platforms to deal with music makers as partners. Finally, it would provide a needed point of leverage for songwriters and music publishers to negotiate with streamers, like Spotify, who can otherwise use their power to bend government regulations to their advantage. All of this could be accomplished by building on the successful infrastructure created by the MMA and the MLC.”
Sony Music Publishing has entered into an agreement with Otis Redding‘s estate, now doing business as Big O Holdings, to administer the songs of the late soul legend in the United States. The singer’s widow, Zelma Redding, said SMP was the right partner to help in their “never-ending effort” to keep Redding’s legacy “recognizable around the world.”
Redding composed or co-wrote many of the songs readily associated with him, including “Respect,” which later became Aretha Franklin’s signature, “Mr. Pitiful,” “I Can’t Turn You Loose,” “Hard to Handle,” eventually adopted by The Black Crowes, and “These Arms of Mine,” later featured in Dirty Dancing. He also co-penned, with fellow future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jerry Butler, the searingly emotional ballad “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” which lifted all the way to No. 2 on the R&B chart in 1965.
Redding’s ethereal and timeless “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” which he co-wrote with M.G. guitarist (and future Blues Brother) Steve Cropper, was released in early 1968, a month after the singer’s tragic death in a plane crash on Dec. 10, 1967. “Dock of the Bay” whistled its way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1968, the singer’s first visit to the chart’s top 20.
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“As one of the most significant songwriters of our lifetime, Otis Redding remains an American treasure,” commented Sony Music Publishing chairman/CEO Jon Platt. “Otis’ songs have shaped the cultural landscape across genres and generations, and it is a privilege to partner with the Redding family as stateside custodians of this singular music catalog.”
The Georgia native was a master interpreter as well, turning old standard “Try a Little Tenderness” into a frenetic hit in 1966, and he put his own spin on classics made famous by other soul icons like “Stand By Me” (Ben E. King) and “My Girl” (Sam Cooke). His version of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” which he and backing band Booker T. & the M.G.’s performed at the Monterey Pop Festival, was legendary for how much it deviated (“I can’t get me no…”) from the original. On his final album before his death, a two-hander with fellow all-timer Carla Thomas titled King & Queen, Redding scored hits with the boisterous “Tramp” and “Knock on Wood.”
Redding released six studio albums between 1964 and 1967, mostly via Stax sister label Volt. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994.
“Otis Redding was a rare talent – his songs are unmistakably brilliant, and their enduring impact remains strong to this day,” said SMP president and global chief marketing officer Brian Monaco. “We are honored to join forces with the Redding family to represent his catalog and strengthen his legacy as one of the most iconic songwriters in American history.”
Spotify has once again shocked the songwriting community by attempting to use a legal loophole to find a new way to pay them less.
Music creators had enjoyed a relative period of peace with Spotify since songwriters and music publishers struck a deal with digital services in 2022 to raise royalty rates over the next five years. Unfortunately, the streaming giant is now perverting that agreement by using audiobooks to redefine and reduce how much they pay songwriters – the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. By unilaterally adding audiobooks to their premium music standalone service, they are now classifying that music service as a ‘bundle’ which means they can attempt to pay royalties under a different definition. In a single year this could cost songwriters an estimated $150 million.
Whether or not they can get away with this is still in question.
Record labels, who are in a free market, have immediate recourse against such underhanded tactics. They are not under a compulsory license like songwriters, and they have the freedom to negotiate directly with streaming services like Spotify. Crucially, this means if they don’t like the way their royalties are affected by Spotify’s bundling strategy, they can say no.
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Unfortunately, songwriters and music publishers cannot. They must go to court every five years and are at the mercy of three judges to interpret Spotify’s routing of the rules.
Spotify first aggressively came for songwriters in 2018. We had achieved a 44% raise in the headline rate for mechanical streaming royalties at the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) – raising rates from 10.5% to 15.1% of revenue. In an unprecedented move, Spotify launched an appeal of that decision, sending us into a half-decade legal odyssey which ultimately resulted in the upholding of our headline rate increase as well as a few new changes.
Fast forward to 2022. Having lost their appeal in regard to the headline rate, the streaming services came to the table to negotiate the next five-year period.
To avoid repeating another era of uncertainty, and to ensure rates and terms improved, we agreed to a deal with Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Google, and Pandora to cover 2023-2027 which included a phased-in headline rate increase. Critically, it also included strengthening bundle definitions by ensuring that services were no longer able to attribute all parts of revenue to other non-music offerings in the bundle. However, the court prevented us from doing away with bundle definitions altogether because when a service pays under the bundle definition, they pay at a discount since music is only part of the offering.
Only recently, when reporting of royalties by Spotify sharply decreased in the middle of a CRB rate period, were we alerted to the fact that Spotify was reinterpreting the new bundle rules to manipulate their payments. However, calling Spotify’s premium service a bundle is dishonest.
After raising prices last year, there was great hope that Spotify would better align pricing with market value and songwriters would see the benefits resulting from the deal we agreed to in 2022 which ensures that when prices go up, so do their royalties.
Only in Spotify’s world would a price hike for users mean a lower royalty rate for songwriters.
As we look to the next CRB trial, where we will again face the largest tech companies in the world, we had hoped to approach it as business partners, bolstered by several years of collaboration. This development has shattered that potential as Spotify has returned to attacking the very songwriters who make its business possible – and worse, they’re doing it through a dishonest work-around.
Bundles were conceived to apply when two standalone products were combined to incentivize new users and grow the paying consumer base. What Spotify has done is act as if audiobooks are a new, separate service, when they are in fact the exact same premium streaming option to which millions of users are already subscribed.
In fact, in a bombshell last week, it was found that if you can even find where to sign up for the audiobook-only option, the first question Spotify asks you is who your favorite performing artists are – exactly like onboarding a music-only subscriber. It then offers you all of the music on its platform on-demand.
We will not stand for their misinterpretation of bundles as precisely defined in our settlement. If allowed to abuse the statutory formula in this way, it will pave the way for other services to do the same.
That’s why several serious actions are in process. Last week, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) sued Spotify for improperly reporting its usage – a.k.a. underpaying songwriters by labeling their services as a bundle.
As the MLC states in its complaint, “Spotify informs potential Audiobook Access subscribers that, unlike Premium subscribers, they will not have access to unlimited, ad-free, on-demand music. But in rolling out its Audiobooks Access plan, Spotify neglected to create a different product.”
Separately, NMPA also sent a demand letter to the streaming giant for its unlicensed use of musical works in its lyrics, videos, and podcasts. We also specifically warned Spotify about its rumored “remix” feature which would allow subscribers to “speed up, mash up, and otherwise edit” songs to create derivative works.
In addition to these legal challenges, soon we will unveil a legislative proposal to permanently fix the power imbalance songwriters face by being subject to a compulsory license for their songs.
Spotify’s cynical, and potentially unlawful, move should make all songwriters and artists question their relationship with the service. The strategy to rebrand music as a “bundle” further devalues their art and amounts to a complete betrayal.
David Israelite is the president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA). Founded in 1917, NMPA is the trade association representing all American music publishers and their songwriting partners.
Anti Social Camp is returning to New York City this summer, featuring a roster of over 200 artists, writers and producers. Perhaps the largest annual songwriting camp in the world, Anti Social Camp is a five day camp and festival, and this year, it will host artists like Jacob Collier, Alec Benjamin, Miranda Lambert and Rob Thomas.
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The team at Anti Social Camp hope to offer a more inclusive approach to the concept of a writing camp, which are typically private affairs tailored to the needs of one artist or project. Anti Social, by contrast, is a front-facing event that celebrates New York’s music scene.
In recent years, many of New York’s top talents have dispersed to other creative hubs, like Los Angeles, Nashville, and Austin, and to help grow local opportunities, Anti Social Camp is part of a larger effort each June to celebrate New York Music Month.
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“We want to put a spotlight on New York as a music capital of the world,” says Anti Social Camp Founder Danny Ross. “Artists are going to walk away with new hit records, access to key industry players, and new collaborators who will be influential in their careers far past the six days of Anti Social Camp. We’re making a real impact on creators and the New York music scene. What else can we ask for?”
That same month, the Big Apple will play host to a bevy of music industry events, including the Songwriters Hall of Fame, American Association of Independent Music (A2IM)’s Indie week conference, the Libera Awards, Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Annual Meeting, the National Music Publishing Association (NMPA) annual meeting, and more.
Anti Social Camp
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Anti Social Camp is supported by New York City council member Carlina Rivera, chair of the committee on cultural affairs and libraries, who says “New York City is a beacon of creativity and the return and impact of Anti Social Camp demonstrates our city’s role as the music capital of the world. The music sector has an outsized economic output of over $20 billion and contributes to the vibrancy that makes our city one of a kind.”
The camp is continuing last year’s traditions and adding in new ones. This year, the camp will once again put together a compilation album of music created at the event, released with the help of Amuse. It will also be adding a new Anti Social ICON Award at this year’s opening ceremony. This year’s inaugural pick is multi-hyphenate musician Jacob Collier.
Other artists include: Lawrence, MICHELLE, Rosa Linn, Rachel Grae, Overcoats, Thutmose, Tim Atlas, Jukebox The Ghost, 41, Joe West, Kamino, Meryll, Riell, Chandler Leighton, Marian Hill, Ant Saunders, Morgxn, Kevian Kraemer, CID, Public Library Commute, Verite, Kidd Kenn, The Happy Fits, Haiden Henderson, Jared Benjamin, Zoe Ko, Madalen Duke, Jillian Rossi, Dezi, Norma Jean Martine and more. Platinum writers/producers include Doug Schadt (Maggie Rogers, Claire Rosinkranz), Andrew Maury (Shawn Mendes, Lizzo), Idarose (Joji, Becky G), Noise Club (Hailee Steinfeld, Tate McRae), Brent Kolatalo (Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey), Chelsea Balan (AJ Mitchell, lilyisthatyou), Ebonie Smith (Janelle Monae, Cardi B) and hundreds more.
Partners include: Title Partner Grayson Music; Presenting Partners Amuse, TIDAL, SoundExchange, DistroKid, Audio Technica and SESAC, The New York City Mayor’s Office of Media + Entertainment, SNGL, Ilegal Mezcal, YouTube Songwriters, Sound Royalties, Cloud Microphones, The Orchard, ONErpm The MLC, BMI, Amazon Music, Samply, Audiomovers, Topo Chico, Spotify; and Contributing Partners The Perfect Wines, ASCAP, Twitch, Groover, Duvel, Recording Academy New York Chapter, Jammaround, Bandsintown and New York City Tourism + Conventions.
In March, Spotify began paying music publishers and songwriters a discounted royalty rate for streams on its premium tiers — and the music business isn’t accepting the change without a fight. Spotify says that by adding audiobooks to its premium offerings, these subscriptions have been reclassified as “bundles,” a type of plan that qualifies for […]