‘This agreement guarantees a raise for CDs, vinyl and downloads, but we know that songwriters need much more to succeed – they need fairness.’
The following op/ed comes from David IsraelitePresident & CEO of National Music Publishers Association (NMPA). The NMPA is the trade association representing American music publishers and their songwriting partners.
A new settlement between the Country Music Publishers Association (NMPA), the Nashville Musicians Association International (NSAI), and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) holds great promise for musicians in the fight for fairer proportions.
Every 5 years, the Copyright Commission (CRB) sets a price for the next 5 year period. While much of this battle is between copyright holders and streaming services, since streaming makes up the majority of the market today, an important part of the process is setting rates. for physical products, CDs and vinyls, and downloads.
These ownership patterns have declined significantly over the years, but still comprise an important part of the business.
To focus valuable time and resources on the larger streaming battle and avoid costly and risky litigation, it is in the interests of publishers, musicians, and producers to try to come to an agreement on their own. favorable, out of process and due to the hard work and captivating vocals of countless musicians around the country, we came to a solution with historic gains.
The settlement we filed with the court gives musicians a 32% increase on the so-called “Subpart B” which includes CDs, vinyl and downloads. The proposal would increase the royalty rate from 9.1 cents to 12 cents and include an annual cost of living adjustment to address inflation. These increases will go into effect for the years 2023-2027.
The leverage needed to strike this deal was a direct result of the songwriters’ submissions during the comment period, which the CRB judges have declared as persuasive and influential. This new settlement will allow creators to benefit from the certainty of better and fairer rates, royalties, and provide the necessary inflation boost without incurring significant litigation costs. .
While these physical productions and downloads represent less than 5% of publishing and authoring income today, the sector is very important, and some segments are even expanding. The evolution of vinyl is an exciting one and demonstrates the long-term value of owning music. While we know that streaming will continue to dominate, we shouldn’t ignore these trends.
By extrapolating the current trendlines to the near future, we see that by the end of the next five years, 2027, physical and downloads could account for less than one percent of the market, however, What is important about this arrangement, and the reviews ‘willing to look at it,’ is that it indicates a tendency towards enhancing the value of musicians’ contributions as a whole.
In this follow-up process, we’ll be up against the biggest tech companies in the history of the world. Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Google and Pandora is fighting to drop its streaming royalties to an all-time low. At the same time, Spotify and Amazon continue to lead their unprecedented call for the 44% rate increase we won in 2018. Time and resources needed to fight this two-sided war is significant, and demonstrates that the process is disrupted.
“We don’t need to go through nearly half a decade uncertain about what streaming speeds really are, and we don’t need to spend millions of dollars annually fending off tech giants with unlimited pockets to fund these wars.”
We don’t need to go through nearly half a decade uncertain about what the real streaming speeds are, and we don’t need to spend millions of dollars a year fending off tech giants. with unlimited pocket money to fund these wars.
One of the most significant benefits of this settlement is that when it comes to an agreement outside of CRB, the record labels will not get involved in the process and go against us along with the streaming giants, thus allowing all our resources to go towards higher priced streaming.
Again, the credit for allowing us to get to this point, where a favorable deal can be reached, goes to individual creators who demand better from the record labels and influencers. significantly to the jury.
As we look into the summer and fall when the streaming rate trial will begin, we can rest easy knowing that after some disagreements, we’re united as people. music creators and their supporters.
This will be the most important period in a generation when it comes to the future of music and the creative economy. This deal guarantees increased prices for CDs, vinyl and downloads, but we know musicians need more than that to succeed – they need fairness. Fair distribution. The judges saw the need in increasing the Subsection B rate. Hopefully this is a sign of better things to come. Keep stable.Worldwide music business
