Bloomberg:
Songwriters will get a larger cut of revenue from streaming services after a court handed technology companies a big defeat.
The Copyright Royalty Board ruled that songwriters will get at least a 15.1 percent share of streaming revenues over the next five years, from a previous 10.5 percent. That’s the largest rate increase in CRB history, according to a statement from the National Music Publishers’ Association.
The decision is a major victory for songwriters, who have long complained they are insufficiently [compensated] by on-demand music services like Spotify and YouTube. Streaming services account for the largest share of music industry sales in the U.S., while global streaming sales jumped 60 percent in 2016, according to the IFPI.
Obviously, a big deal for artists. Question is, will this force a change to the pricing of Apple Music and other services?
Honestly, before streaming I’d routinely spend up to $100 a month on music and only have 8 or so albums to show for it. Now I’m paying $10 to drink from the music firehose. So maybe I’m biased as a musician, but I’d gladly pay a little more if I knew artists were getting a better shake.
I thought it was pretty scummy when Apple started to renegotiate lower rates just 12 months into Apple Music. Pay the damn artists!!!
Agree completely, the obvious counterpoint being that most people now expect to be able to get their music free. Much like Uber and Amazon, that’s a market inversion that needs to get shaken out before sanity can return.
(And even in the best case there will always be tension between artists and consumers).