Songwriters, Publishers to Receive Increased Royalties from Music Streaming Services

Songwriters and publishers are set to receive increased royalties from Spotify, Apple Music, and other music streaming services, following a ruling.

According to Ars Technica, “The mechanical royalty rates from streaming—royalties paid out to songwriters and publishers, as distinct from those paid out to performers—will increase by nearly 44 percent over the next five years,” following “a ruling from the United States Copyright Royalty Board after hearings that were held from March through June of last year.”

“Currently, 10.5 percent of streaming services’ monthly gross revenue is assigned to be paid to songwriters and publishers; the payouts are determined by the number of streams in that period,” they explained. “That will rise each year until it reaches 15.1 percent in 2022. This year, the rate will be 11.4 percent; it will be 13.3 percent in 2020, and so on.”

In 2015, a songwriter who co-wrote Meghan Trainor’s pop hit “All About That Bass” claimed he had only made $5,679 from 178 million streams on popular music streaming service Pandora, while in 2013, songwriter Aloe Blacc claimed the service had paid just $12,359 to those who wrote Avicii’s “Wake Me Up,” which was streamed more than 168 million times.

This month, it was revealed that digital streaming services now account for the majority of music consumption in Britain, excluding radio.

Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington, or like his page at Facebook.