Music Industry

Interesting: Spotify Has Settled with a US Music Publisher Over Unpaid Royalties

Okay, so it’s a settlement with just one publishing body, but this is a step awards Spotify making two multi-million-dollar class action lawsuits go away. From Music Business Worldwide.

Spotify has agreed a settlement deal with the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) which will ‘allow independent and major publishers to claim and receive royalties for certain compositions used on Spotify in the United States where ownership information was previously unknown’.

The NMPA says that agreement – which comes after two $100m+ class action lawsuits against Spotify over alleged unpaid mechanical royalties – establishes a ‘large bonus compensation fund that is a substantial percentage of what is currently being held by Spotify for unmatched royalties’.

Billboard reported earlier this month that the total NMPA settlement will involve $5 million in damages on top of the $16-25 million that Spotify owes music publishers and songwriters for unclaimed works.

In addition, the NMPA said the deal would ‘create a better path forward for finding the owners of publishing rights who should receive streaming royalties’ by ‘improving processes for identifying and compensating writers for their work and establishing a better database for future payments’.

Continue reading. I wonder what the other parties in the current legal actions think of this?

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39147 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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