The MMA and Streaming Services, Five Years On

Doug Collins writes Guest Column for Billboard Magazine: “On the Music Modernization Act’s 5th Anniversary, Streaming Services Are Trying to Redefine Its Intent”

6 June 2024

Read the Story Here.

AIMP Followup Statement on Spotify’s Bundling Plans, Cutting Publisher Royalties by Estimated $150M 

12 May 2024 – Press release

The Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) — including Michael Lau (National Chair and New York Chapter President), Marc Caruso (Los Angeles Chapter President), Ree Guyer (Nashville Chapter President), and Tony D. Alexander (Atlanta Chapter President) — issued the below followup statement regarding Spotify’s music-audiobook bundle.

“Two weeks ago, we spoke out about the potential consequences for independent music publishers should Spotify go forward with its plan to bundle a previously free service, audiobooks, with music subscriptions. Now that an actual number has been put to the potential lost revenue for music publishers, a staggering estimate of $150 million per year, we feel the need to speak out again.

“It is a deeply cynical move for Spotify to attempt to circumvent the CRB settlement agreed to by the NMPA & NSAI and DiMA in 2022 via this bundling ‘loophole,’ and further insulting that the price of a Spotify subscription will actually increase for users while cutting revenue for the songwriters who keep their business alive. This is especially problematic for independent music publishers, as they and all publishers are legally prevented from negotiating protections against bad-faith tactics such as this, while labels are allowed to do so in a free market.

“At this point, we still do not know how Spotify plans to notify its subscribers of this change. The right thing to do is to default existing subscribers to music-only accounts, and then give them the option to add-on the audiobook service for an additional $9.99 per month — Spotify’s proposed standalone rate for audiobooks. This ensures a proper, non-devalued royalty rate for both music and audiobook publishers and rightsholders, who will otherwise both be negatively affected by bundling.

“The AIMP offers its unequivocal support to the NMPA as they fight this critical battle to prevent Spotify’s scheme from taking effect. We encourage all independent music publishers to join us in this stance and make their songwriters aware of this attack on their livelihood. We cannot allow bundling to become a precedent that can be used to deprive songwriters of their well-earned royalties.

“The AIMP has also been speaking with the Coalition of Concerned Creators and are happy to report that we are aligned on this issue. Please find their statement on this issue below.”

From the Coalition of Concerned Creators:

“All musicians, creator advocacy groups, unions and organizations, and other creator stakeholders — including authors and podcasters — must stand firm against Spotify’s recent policy shift. It is essential to advocate for equitable compensation for music creators, who are pivotal to the industry’s sustainability. Additionally, this is a clear pattern of behavior and we continue to be concerned about Spotify’s bridge into new audio formats, like audiobooks, and how this pattern of behavior will affect other creators, like authors, as well.”

Read More Here:

AIMP Global Music Publishing Summit – Register Now 

16 April 2024 – NY, NY

Registration is now open for AIMP’s Global Music Publishing Summit! 

Register on aimpsummit.com by May 3 for early bird pricing.

10 March 2024 – Press release

The Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) — including Michael Lau (National Chair and New York Chapter President), Marc Caruso (Los Angeles Chapter President), Ree Guyer (Nashville Chapter President), and Tony D. Alexander (Atlanta Chapter President) — issued the below statement on TikTok music licensing for independent publishers.

“Whether or not indie publishers are provided with the opportunity to continue with the current license model or not, there are a few issues that need to be addressed.

“One, music has been at the center of TikTok and its users since day 1 – the service’s origin was musical.ly. Music connected to any audio-visual work is used to support and tell the emotional story in the picture/video. Without it, it falls flat. Music is a visceral and cultural experience that helps us express our feelings, relive a moment in time, convey an attitude, etc. This is why TikTok users gravitate to using popular and commercial music just like the television series, films, advertisements, and video games that the users engage with. There is a difference when you use a song like “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “What a Wonderful World,” or “Cherry Pie” vs. a lesser-known piece of production library music, let alone an AI-generated song. TikTok needs to evolve their licensing model and embrace this fact and move forward appreciating the songwriters and artists as equal partners in TikTok’s success.

“Two, the revenue model where income earned by a song on TikTok is based on video creations only vs. views is flawed and has to change. When a video is created once and gets 5 million views, the songwriter and artist are paid only on the one creation instead of the 5 million views. The industry already has a revenue model that works, and that is a per-stream rate. It is not perfect with regards to the equity, but that is a different battle. The point is, songwriters and publishers deserve to be paid for the value they bring to TikTok, and any revenue model going forward needs to reflect that value.

“Indie publishers should take this opportunity to fully evaluate what is being offered and make a decision for what is best for their business, not TikTok’s.”

Further reading: