Cough it up, Streaming Services. New Ruling Raises Royalties from Apple Music, Spotify, and More.

Songwriters and music publishers will see a 44 percent increase in royalties over the next year, say US copyright authorities.

A decision made by the Copyright Royalty Board of the US Library of Congress alters the payment structure, changing how much streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora, will pay songwriters and music-publishing companies who collect fees on artist’s behalf.

The CRB decision will require such services to pay 15.1 percent instead of the original 10.5 percent. As expected, the National Music Publishers Association hailed the ruling, though it’s estimated record labels will still receive $3.82 for every $1 paid to songwriters and publishers. David Israelite, president and CEO of the NMPA, called it “the most favorable balance in the history of the industry.”

The decision has been long awaited. The CRB drew up these new rates for songwriters and publishers after hearing evidence during a trial last year.

Martin Bandier, chief executive of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, told the New York Post he too was in favor of a per-stream rate, but noted that the increases “go a long way to fairly compensate our songwriters.”

Further regulations by the CRB will require streaming companies to pay “late fees” when payments are delayed.

As expected, and discussed in Best Seat in the House: Episode 005, this will put pressure on less-diverse companies such as Spotify and Pandora, regardless of their position as streaming pioneers.