Spotify Faces A $30 Million Settlement Over Unpaid Royalties

Spotify may wriggle its way out of a perilous publishing royalty lawsuit after all, but it could be costly.  Yesterday, sources to Digital Music News pointed to a $5 million one-time penalty, payable to the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), part of a structured agreement that would also involve the construction of a working copyright matching interface and claims system for songwriters and publishers.

That ‘quick-n-dirty’ agreement remains unsigned, but is being given urgent consideration according to DMN sources.  Indeed, the negotiations were quickly confirmed to DMN by NMPA chief executive David Israelite on Monday via email, though specifics over penalty amounts weren’t discussed.

Israelite subsequently pointed to longer-term discussions between the NMPA, Spotify, and other streaming services, with mechanical licenses the focal point of the talks.

The $5 million figure was soon parroted by Billboard in a copycat piece, with one humongous zinger.  It turns out that $5 million penalty may be on top of earlier negotiated penalties of between $16 million and $25 million, according to Billboard’s unnamed sources, bringing the grand total to nearly $30 million.  “The National Music Publishers’ Association’s (NMPA’s) settlement with Spotify … will include the streaming service paying $5 million in damages on top of the $16-25 million that the service owes music publishers and songwriters,” Billboard’s Ed Christman wrote.

Source: Digital Music News
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