Publishing
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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.
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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 […]
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (the MLC) has filed a lawsuit against Spotify, calling the way the streamer reclassified its premium, duo and family plans as “bundles” and started paying a discounted royalty rate to publishers and songwriters “improper.”
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“The financial consequences… are enormous for songwriters and music publishers,” the MLC writes in the complaint.
News of the lawsuit arrives just a week after Billboard published its estimate that publishers and songwriters will earn about $150 million less in U.S. mechanicals in the next year, compared to what they would have been owed had the services not been bundled.
The root of the conflict started late last year when Spotify added 15 hours of free audiobook listening to Spotify premium, duo and family plans in the United States and other markets. At the time, this was a free extra for subscribers, and Spotify continued to pay the original full mechanical royalty rate for musical works in the United States.
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Starting in March, however, Spotify quietly launched an audiobook-only plan, then started to reclassify its premium, duo and family plans as bundles because audiobooks were included. According to Phonorecords IV, the agreement that dictates U.S. mechanical royalty rates for 2023-2027, bundles of multiple products are an inherently different type of subscription and thus use a different, lower royalty rate, given that multiple offerings must be paid for from the same subscription price.
In the lawsuit filed by the MLC, which processes and distributes mechanical royalties to publishers and songwriters in the United States, the organization argues “premium is exactly the same service” as it was previously. “Prior to March 1, Spotify paid mechanical royalties on the entirety of Premium revenues, subject to certain specific reductions identified in Section 115, despite the fact that Premium subscribers also had access to the same number of hours of audiobooks as Audiobooks Access subscribers now have,” the lawsuit reads.
“On March 1, 2024, without advance notice to the MLC, Spotify unilaterally and unlawfully decided to reduce the Service Provider Revenue reported to the MLC for Premium by almost 50 percent,” reads the complaint. “[This was done] by improperly characterizing the service as a different type of subscription offering and underpaying royalties, even though there has been no change to the premium plan and no corresponding reduction to the revenues that Spotify generates from its tens of millions of Premium subscribers.”
Spotify provided a statement to Billboard in response to the lawsuit, saying: “The lawsuit concerns terms that publishers and streaming services agreed to and celebrated years ago under the Phono IV agreement. Bundles were a critical component of that settlement, and multiple DSPs include bundles as part of their mix of subscription offerings. Spotify paid a record amount to publishers and societies in 2023 and is on track to pay out an even larger amount in 2024. We look forward to a swift resolution of this matter.”
Reports of Spotify’s change to its royalty rate structure for premium, duo and family plans first arrived in April. Immediately, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) began speaking out against Spotify’s reclassification, calling it an “end to our period of relative peace” and “potentially unlawful.”
On Wednesday (May 15), the NMPA sent Spotify a cease and desist letter regarding a separate issue: allegedly unlicensed lyrics and video. In the letter, NMPA general counsel/executive vp Danielle Aguirre also mentioned there might be some publishing content that “will soon become unlicensed” by its members. Spotify fired back at the letter in a statement, which read: “This letter is a press stunt filled with false and misleading claims.”
In its lawsuit filed Thursday, the MLC claims that to qualify for the bundle subscription rate, “an offering must include at least two distinct products or services. Premium does not,” adding, “Premium already consisted of unlimited music and access to other audio products including up to 15 hours of audiobook listening” as well as other offerings like podcasts.
The MLC further argues that the audiobook-only plan Spotify launched in March is not a different product, saying that it offers more than just audiobooks. “New Audiobooks Access subscribers are being granted access to 15 hours of audiobooks listening and the same access to unlimited, ad-free, on-demand music that Premium subscribers are provided. The only difference is that subscribers to Audiobooks Access are paying $9.99 per month, rather than $10.99, to receive the same product,” reads the complaint.
The MLC also notes that the “audiobook access subscription page does not appear to be directly accessible from Spotify’s website” — making the point that the offering is difficult to find. As a consequence, the MLC says it believes “there is little doubt that the number of subscribers who will sign up for Audiobooks Access is likely to be a fraction of the Premium subscribers.”
A few months ago, the MLC also sued Pandora, another streaming service it collects mechanical royalties from in the United States, for what it says is a failure to properly pay streaming royalties. That lawsuit is ongoing.
The MLC and the Digital Licensee Coordinator (DLC) — the organization intended to represent the majority interests of digital music providers affected by the blanket license set up by the Music Modernization Act (MMA) — are also currently in the process of their first five-year check-up (called a “re-designation” process) to ensure both are effectively fulfilling their duties. This routine, five-year check, conducted by the U.S. Copyright Office, allows the two organizations to self-report on their progress and gives key stakeholders — including the Digital Media Organization (DiMA) — the opportunity to speak to the strengths and weaknesses of the organizations.
The MLC’s operational costs are paid for by DiMA members, including Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Amazon Music and more, as set forth by the Music Modernization Act (MMA). In a blog post in March, DiMA’s CEO/president, Graham Davies, pointed out that the MLC is “suing one of the licensees [Pandora] that pays its costs.” The NMPA replied to this post by defending the MLC, saying that streamers “do not want what is in the best interests of music publishers or songwriters,” calling DiMA’s “new…strategy…an effort by the world’s largest digital companies to leverage their power to pay less.”
The NMPA’s president/CEO David Israelite provided a statement of support for the MLC lawsuit, saying, “we applaud the MLC for standing up for songwriters and not letting Spotify get away with its latest trick to underpay creators. The MLC is tasked with challenging services who falsely report royalties, and we commend their swift action. The lawsuit sends a clear message that platforms cannot improperly manipulate usage — in this case unilaterally redefining services as a bundle — in order to devalue music. We strongly support the MLC and will continue to pursue justice.”
Kevin Parker of Tame Impala has sold his complete song catalog to Sony Music Publishing. The deal expands Parker’s longstanding relationship with SMP, which has published him since 2009, and includes all of his works released as Tame Impala as well as his writing credits for other songs, including his contributions to Dua Lipa‘s new album Radical Optimism, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 this week.
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Parker has also expanded his publishing deal with Sony to include the administration of the full catalog as well as future works.
The Australian mutli-hyphenate musician has made an indelible impact on music since he began his psychedelic rock band in 2008. Through the project, Parker has released four albums — InnerSpeaker (2010), Lonerism (2012),Currents (2015) and The Slow Rush (2020) — all of which were solely written, produced, recorded and mixed by Parker.
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Along with Tame Impala, Parker has also written and produced for a number of top acts, including Travis Scott, Dua Lipa, Mick Jagger, Kendrick Lamar, SZA, The Gorillaz, Mark Ronson, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi, Flaming Lips, A$AP Rocky, Lil Yachty, Don Toliver, Daft Punk, Miguel, and Australian children’s group The Wiggles. Rihanna also covered his Tame Impala-released single “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” (which she retitled “Same Ol’ Mistakes”) on her acclaimed 2016 album ANTI.
Parker says of the deal: “The idea of passing on ownership of my songs is one that I don’t think about very lightly, at all. They are the fruit of my blood, sweat and creativity over all the years I’ve been a recording artist and songwriter so far. I have a lot of love and trust for the Sony publishing family and have only had great experiences with Damian Trotter and the rest of the gang worldwide. I don’t think my songs could be in any safer hands than Sony’s, and I’m excited for the future and happy I can keep working with them on whatever the future brings…”
“I have always admired Kevin Parker and I believe he is one of the most versatile songwriters of our time,” says Jon Platt, chairman and CEO of SMP. “Kevin has built a catalog of songs with incredible range and enduring power, and he has always stayed true to his vision. It is a privilege to represent his music, and we are committed to broadening his legacy of success.”
Damian Trotter, managing director of Australia for Sony Music Publishing said: “Kevin is a singular talent whose creativity and dedication to his art has enthralled fans and artists since he arrived on the music scene. Having worked with Kevin since before the release of the first Tame Impala album, it has been thrilling to witness his rise to success worldwide, which is so well deserved. We are proud and humbled to be taking custodianship of this iconic catalogue of songs and to be continuing our relationship with Kevin in this exciting phase of his music making career.”
IMPEL has added The Administration MP, Drive Publishing, Red Brick Songs and Lofi Chill & Lofi Jazz to its membership. Now, IMPEL, a international collective representing digital publishing rights, will help its new members with licensing their catalogs.
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They join other independent music publishers like Bucks Music Group, Beggars Music, Reservoir Music, Kassner Music, CTM, ABKCO, Truelove Music, Faber Music, Mute Song, Budde UK, Phrased Differently, Legs Music, Reach Music Publishing and Regard Music who are all already members of IMPEL.
IMPEL CEO Sarah Williams said of the new additions: “It feels as though we have reached a tipping point as an organization when it comes to awareness around what we do, how we do it and the unique benefits we bring to our members. The number of independent publishers that want to become part of our collective family is increasing all the time, and it’s great to be able to add such a diverse group of US operators to our ranks at once. We continue to make real in-roads into the biggest music market on the planet, which will benefit our membership as a whole.”
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The Administration MP
This publisher, founded in 2013, boasts over 1,300 clients and 60,000 copyrights. It’s repertoire primarily focuses on hip-hop/rap, and its clients have written songs for Drake, MGK, the Notorious B.I.G., Migos, Nicki Minaj, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Tyga, and Chris Brown.
Drive Publishing
Founded in 2013 by Ana Ruiz, Drive Music Publishing offers global administration, creative consulting, royalty collection, and sound recording services, emphasizing expertise, transparency, and clarity. The company represents Grammy-winning and nominated writers, including Jackson Browne, jazz saxophone legend Benny Carter, and ‘the Poet of Havana’ Carlos Varela.
Red Brick Songs
Red Brick Songs supports songwriters through multimedia song placement, royalty administration, and career development. Their catalog includes works by Toni Braxton, Bootsy Collins, Alison Krauss, Paula Cole, and Ronnie Spector, among others. Notable hits in their collection include Julie Gold’s Grammy-winning “From A Distance,” Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit,” and jazz standards like “Bemsha Swing,” “Moanin’,” and “Joy Spring.”
Lofi Chill & Lofi Jazz
The publishing counterpart of a label by the same name, Lofi Chill and Lofi Jazz represent a catalog of top ambient and lofi artists, including Dontcry, Phlocalyst, Casiio, SwuM, and Mujo.
Spotify is changing the way it pays songwriters and publishers in the United States — leading to an estimated $150 million cut to U.S. mechanical royalty payments — and the music business is speaking out.
By adding audiobooks into Spotify’s premium, duo and family tiers, Spotify now claims it qualifies to pay a discounted “bundle” rate to songwriters for premium streams given that it now has to pay licensing for both books and music from the same subscription price tag — which will only be a dollar higher than when music was the only offering.
Spotify argues that adding audiobooks reclassifies the service from a “standalone portable subscription” to a “bundled subscription offering,” according to the royalty rate formula provided in Phonorecords IV. The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), both of which represented the music business in Phono IV proceedings, disagree with Spotify’s reading of the settlement, with the NMPA calling it “a cynical and potentially unlawful move” that is a “perversion of the settlement we agreed upon in 2022.”
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Last week, Billboard calculated that this change will lead to an estimated $150 million cut in U.S. mechanical royalties from premium, duo and family plans for the first 12 months the bundle rate is in effect, compared to what songwriters would have earned if the three subscription tiers were never bundled. The change affects payments starting in March 2024, so it will not impact Spotify’s premium, duo or family payouts for the first two months of 2024. Specifically, the estimate refers to losses for the first 12 months after the premium, family and duo tiers are qualified as a bundle, not calendar year 2024.
As Spotify grows, the music business fears that the difference between what payments to songwriters and publishers would have been if premium continued to be counted as a regular standalone service versus what will be paid now that music and audiobooks have been bundled will continue to increase.
Spotify says it will soon offer a music-only subscription tier that will pay out in the same way Spotify premium used to, but there’s not yet a timeline for when this option will launch.
Back in March, Spotify released a statement about the change to the bundle rate, stating that the company is “on track to pay publishers and societies more in 2024 than in 2023. As our industry partners are aware, changes in our product portfolio mean that we are paying out in different ways based on terms agreed to by both streaming services and publishers. Multiple DSPs have long paid a lower rate for bundles versus a stand-alone music subscription, and our approach is consistent.”
Below is an updating list of music industry reactions to the news:
National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA)
“It appears Spotify has returned to attacking the very songwriters who make its business possible. Spotify’s attempt to radically reduce songwriter payments by reclassifying their music service as an audiobook bundle is a cynical, and potentially unlawful, move that ends our period of relative peace. We will not stand for their perversion of the settlement we agreed upon in 2022 and are looking at all options.”
Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP)
“Two weeks ago, we spoke out about the potential consequences for independent music publishers should Spotify go forward with its plan to bundle a previously free service, audiobooks, with music subscriptions. Now that an actual number has been put to the potential lost revenue for music publishers, a staggering estimate of $150 million per year, we feel the need to speak out again.
“It is a deeply cynical move for Spotify to attempt to circumvent the CRB settlement agreed to by the NMPA & NSAI and DiMA in 2022 via this bundling ‘loophole,’ and further insulting that the price of a Spotify subscription will actually increase for users while cutting revenue for the songwriters who keep their business alive. This is especially problematic for independent music publishers, as they and all publishers are legally prevented from negotiating protections against bad-faith tactics such as this, while labels are allowed to do so in a free market.
“At this point, we still do not know how Spotify plans to notify its subscribers of this change. The right thing to do is to default existing subscribers to music-only accounts, and then give them the option to add-on the audiobook service for an additional $9.99 per month — Spotify’s proposed standalone rate for audiobooks. This ensures a proper, non-devalued royalty rate for both music and audiobook publishers and rightsholders, who will otherwise both be negatively affected by bundling.
“The AIMP offers its unequivocal support to the NMPA as they fight this critical battle to prevent Spotify’s scheme from taking effect. We encourage all independent music publishers to join us in this stance and make their songwriters aware of this attack on their livelihood. We cannot allow bundling to become a precedent that can be used to deprive songwriters of their well-earned royalties.
“The AIMP has also been speaking with the Coalition of Concerned Creators and are happy to report that we are aligned on this issue. Please find their statement on this issue below.
“From the Coalition of Concerned Creators:
“All musicians, creator advocacy groups, unions and organizations, and other creator stakeholders — including authors and podcasters — must stand firm against Spotify’s recent policy shift. It is essential to advocate for equitable compensation for music creators, who are pivotal to the industry’s sustainability. Additionally, this is a clear pattern of behavior and we continue to be concerned about Spotify’s bridge into new audio formats, like audiobooks, and how this pattern of behavior will affect other creators, like authors, as well.”
Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI)
“Spotify, we are writing regarding Spotify’s decision to ‘bundle’ music with audiobooks, resulting in an estimated annual loss of as much as $150 million in mechanical royalty payments to American songwriters, composers and music publishers. This attempt at lowering royalty payments to an already beleaguered songwriter community is in the worst bad faith and a perversion of the Copyright Royalty Board settlement that the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), the National Music Publishers Assn. (NMPA) and the Digital Media Assn. (DiMA) agreed to in 2022. It counters every statement Spotify has ever made of claiming the company is friendly to creators.
“‘Bundling’ music with other offerings without a music-only option does not comport with our view of the intent of the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) in recent Phonorecord procedures in which the NSAI participated. Further, this move negates gains awarded to songwriters by the CRB. NSAI will not accept what we view as an attempt to manipulate the intent of the court through a ‘bundling’ gimmick. NSAI calls for Spotify to immediately reverse its course and offer separate music subscription choices at price points that will fairly remunerate songwriters.
“The American songwriter community is appalled that this is happening while Spotify is reporting record profits, and while founder Daniel Ek has recently cashed in a reported $180 million in stock options, including $118 million that practically coincided with the ‘bundling’ announcement which reduced Spotify’s yearly royalty obligation. The amount Ek cashed in conveniently mirrors the estimated amount that Spotify wants to leech off the back of songwriters who create the product on which streaming services are making billions.
“Reporting record profits while reducing songwriter royalties as the company founder cashed in millions in stocks proves a greedy, offensive and callous disregard for the songwriters on whose backs these revenues are generated.
“Signed unanimously by Nashville Songwriters Association International”