When the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) ruled that songwriters should get paid more per stream, Apple agreed. All the other major music platforms did not. Instead, they chose to appeal the ruling. Music Business Worldwide explained the ongoing legal wranglings.
Spotify, Amazon, Google, and SiriusXM/Pandora are now appealing this ruling because, to cut a long story short, they argue it could unfairly advantage Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, and Warner Music Group — who all own both major record companies and major music publishers. Apple stands alone in refusing to appeal the CRB’s judgement. Spotify et al’s appeal, filed last month, argues that, to avoid giving the major music companies too much power, a ‘cap’ should have been introduced by the CRB Judges, which would ensure that no method of payout to publishers could ever exceed the equivalent of $0.80 per paying subscriber, each month, of each service.
Check It Out: Apple Backs Increasing Songwriter Pay. No Other Streaming Service Agrees.