The Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group, Jody Gerson, has spoken out in support of the songwriting community and its battle to uphold a royalty rate rise from streaming services in the US.
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) ruled last year that songwriters and publishers would see a 44% statutory royalty increase from streaming platforms by 2022. Yet in recent weeks, the likes of Spotify, Amazon, Pandora/Sirius XM and Google have legally challenged this ruling, aiming to have it reversed – while Apple, in contrast, has declined to do so.
Spotify, in particular, has faced significant industry backlash over its appeal against the new CRB rates.
Hit songwriters yesterday (April 9) issued a letter to Spotify founder Daniel Ek in which they expressed how they were “hurt and disappointed” by the legal move, adding, “You have used us and tried to divide us but we stand together.” These writers included Ali Tamposi, Babyface, Emily Warren, Frank Dukes, Greg Kurstin, Nile Rodgers, Oak Felder, Starrah, Steve Mac and Teddy Geiger, among many others.
Now, MBW can reveal Jody Gerson’s thoughts on the matter. The UMPG chief addressed the CRB appeals as part of a recent in-depth interview which will appear in our forthcoming Music Business USA magazine, due to launch later in Q2.
Said Gerson: “It is critical that innovation be completely interlocked with fair compensation for songwriters. It’s a symbiotic relationship; it should work for everyone. We want the streaming platforms to be successful. They should want songwriters to be successful, too. Together, we all benefit.
“The DSPs have gained tremendous value from music. These are businesses that are built on songs and would not exist without them. Without question, they owe their success to songwriters.
“Do I wish these platforms accepted the new, better rates for songwriters? Of course. Would that have been the right thing to do? Absolutely. By appealing the ruling, they fail to acknowledge that songwriters need to be paid fairly.”
“Do I wish these platforms accepted the new, better rates for songwriters? Of course. Would that have been the right thing to do? Absolutely. By appealing the ruling, they fail to acknowledge that songwriters need to be paid fairly.”
Jody Gerson, Universal Music Publishing Group (pictured)
Added Gerson: “I applaud how both publishers and songwriters are rallying behind such a critical cause. This is something that we do every day at UMPG: fight for songwriters’ rights.
“It’s one of our central missions and we stand with songwriters who are taking action and speaking out.”
Warner/Chappell COO and Co-Chair, Carianne Marshall, recently said that her publishing company felt it had “to draw a line on this issue”, as she also denounced the actions of Spotify, Google, Pandora and Amazon.
“[The digital services’] attempt to roll back rates fairly determined through the CRB process is unacceptable,” said Marshall. “As such, we will vigorously seek to protect the value of music and passionately promote the rights of songwriters.”
And ex-Sony/ATV boss Martin Bandier commented: “I am incredibly disappointed that Spotify and the other companies have chosen to attack songwriters by appealing the long-overdue rate increases. The move flies in the face of everything that I have fought for on behalf of songwriters for fair-market rates.”
Apple has also censured Spotify’s CRB appeal directly, stating in a company blog that the move “isn’t just wrong, it represents a real, meaningful and damaging step backwards for the music industry”.Music Business Worldwide
