American songwriters and publishers are facing significant royalty losses due to Spotify's recent actions. Despite raising subscription prices and offering

premium bundle deals that include audiobooks, the audio streaming giant is cutting the mechanical royalty payments that songwriters, composers, and music publishers receive.

"This reduction affects our rate because Spotify argues that consumers subscribe to music and audiobooks. As a result, they pay a lower rate to songwriters, potentially leading to a $150 million loss next year," said Steve Bogard, a distinguished songwriter with 10 No. 1 country hits. Despite his extensive catalog being available 24/7 for a monthly fee, Bogard is frustrated with Spotify's decision, emphasizing songwriters' already challenging financial situation.

"It affects publishers' earnings, limiting their ability to sign new writers. Almost all new writers need second or third jobs," Bogard explained. He has also served as the board president of The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) for 13 of the past 17 years.

NSAI criticized Spotify's actions, calling them bad faith and a distortion of the Copyright Royalty Board settlement agreed upon by NSAI, the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), and the Digital Media Association (DiMA) in 2022. The association demands that Spotify reverse its decision and offer separate music subscription options at prices that fairly compensate songwriters.

These royalty payment reductions follow Spotify's announcement of record profits and founder Daniel Ek's reported cashing in of $180 million in stock options.

The American songwriter community is outraged that this is occurring while Spotify reports record profits and founder Daniel Ek recently cashed in a reported $180 million in stock options. Notably, $118 million was cashed in almost simultaneously with the "bundling" announcement, which reduced Spotify's annual royalty obligation. This amount mirrors the estimated sum Spotify aims to extract from songwriters who create content that drives streaming service profits.

Reporting record profits while slashing songwriter royalties, as the company founder profits millions from stock sales, demonstrates a greedy, offensive, and callous disregard for the songwriters on whose backs these revenues are generated.

Signed unanimously by the Nashville Songwriters Association International

Executive Director Bart Herbison and board members:

Rhett Akins, Trannie Anderson, Kelly Archer, Steve Bogard, Roger Brown, Sarah Buxton, Jeff Cohen, Chris DeStefano, Jessi Jo Dillon, J.T. Harding, David Hodges, Byron Hill, Brett James, Josh Kear, Jamie Moore, Lee Miller, Tim Nichols, Jon Nite, Josh Osborne, Liz Rose, Rivers Rutherford, Jenn Schott, Emily Shackelton, Caitlyn Smith, Anthony Smith, Troy Verges, Parker Welling