Songwriter Streaming Royalties: Read What Every Streamer, Publisher & Songwriter Group Has Proposed
Categoria: Musica
From Spotify to the NMPA, the various stakeholders in the Copyright Royalty Board’s Phono V process have made their positions known.
Por Billboard | 15/10/2026
The music industry’s latest battle over songwriter streaming royalties in the U.S. is currently underway, and streaming services, publishers and songwriters are now weighing in on what they think the royalty rate should be. The process, determined through the oversight of a government-sanctioned court called the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), sets one of the royalty types (called “mechanicals”) songwriters earn on streaming services for a five-year period. Mechanicals make up roughly half of the money songwriters earn from streaming services. Given that the U.S. is one of the biggest, most lucrative markets in the world, the rates that get set in America are hugely important to the well-being of songwriters and music publishers locally and even in far-flung areas of the world. Related The Next Battle Over Songwriter Streaming Royalties Has Begun. Don’t Expect a Quick Fight Weezer to Receive Legend of Live Award at 2026 Billboard Live Music Summit Hilary Duff to Receive Outstanding Pop Tour of the Year Award at 2026 Billboard Live Music Summit To start the process, streaming services, songwriters and publisher groups submitted their proposals for what they think the most appropriate rate would be in what’s called a “direct case.” On Oct. 5, the direct cases were submitted, and eventually, a few days later, the proposals were made available to the public as the CRB judges looked them over. Eventually, in spring 2027, the CRB will start a trial in order to determine the fairest rate possible based on what they’ve learned. This proceeding, called Phonorecords V or “Phono V” (the five-year period of 2028-2032), is shaping up to be a particularly contentious one. Phono IV, the previous proceeding which dictated the rates from 2023-2027, was settled by the streaming services, publishers and songwriters in a peaceful, voluntary agreement before the CRB could even begin a trial on the matter. After the settlement was approved by the court, it seemed like a new period of relative peace between the players. Then, overnight, Spotify and Amazon used the rules set in the Phono IV settlement to cut mechanical royalty payments to songwriters by about half. Spotify (and later Amazon) reclassified its popular Premium and Unlimited plans as a “bundle,” a special type of subscription which, according to the CRB, allows for a lower royalty rate to be paid for music. This discount on music royalties was designed so that the streaming service could feasibly pay for both the music rights and other rights required for the product in the bundle. Prior to Spotify’s move, it was uncommon for a streaming service’s most popular offering to be a discounted bundle; typically, bundles were specialty offers to get new customers in the door with a good deal. The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), the trade organization representing U.S. publishers, launched a multi-pronged campaign against Spotify over the issue, and the organization estimated in June t