Economics
Songwriters Sing Blues Over Diminished Streaming Royalties
- Composers seek new scale from companies like Amazon, Spotify
- Three-judge panel of copyright board will hear challenges
Songwriters Seek New Streaming Standards
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The writers who craft songs for artists from Garth Brooks to Beyonce plan to tell a panel of judges this week that the increasing popularity of music-streaming services like Spotify will destroy their profession unless they get more royalties.
In a hearing scheduled to begin Wednesday, songwriters and the organizations representing them will try to persuade three federal judges on the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington to adopt a new standard that could earn songwriters a higher rate from streaming. Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Pandora Media Inc. and Spotify Ltd. are countering with their own proposals.