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Songwriter and publisher U.S. mechanical streaming royalty rates are going up — slowly — to a headline rate of 15.35% of total revenue from 2023-2027. That’s the big news out of Wednesday’s (Aug. 31) joint announcement on the “Phonorecords IV” settlement from the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Associations International and the Digital Media Association (DiMA). But how long will it take to get there and at what pace? What are the other conditions? Billboard now has more more key details about the deal.
Under the new settlement agreement — which the NMPA touts will set the “highest royalty rate in the history of streaming anywhere” — the headline rate will escalate from 15.1% of revenue in 2023 to 15.2% in 2024 and then a half a percentage point increase in each of the remaining three years, peaking at 15.35% in 2027, the final year of the term. Meanwhile, for the stand-alone portable subscription offerings — like Spotify — the total content cost (TCC) component of the rate formula will be set at 26.2% of what’s paid to labels for the entire term, or $1.10 per subscriber, whichever is lower. Previously, those numbers were 21% of revenue and 80 cents per subscriber.
This means that the resultant TCC pool is measured against the total service revenue. Whichever is larger is designated the “all-in” pool, including both performance and mechanical royalties. After this is established, performance royalties are subtracted out, leaving just the mechanical royalties behind.
Finally, the resultant mechanicals are judged against a pool, calculated by multiplying a streaming service’s total subscribers by 60 cents per person. Whichever of these two totals is bigger becomes the final mechanical royalty pool paid out to publishers and songwriters. Previously, the multiplier for the last 10 years had been set at 50 cents per subscriber.
This now-agreed-upon formula ensures a higher pay rate for publishers while allowing services — including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Pandora and Google (YouTube) — to have more certainty in what rate they are probably going to be paying. Previously, before the CRB announced its determination in the Phono III (2018-2022) remand proceeding on June 1, most services had reverted to using the 10.5% of service revenue headline rate from 2013-2017 for 2021. Using the old formula’s parameters, that resulted in a 14.4% rate for 2021 because the other factors of the rate formula kicked in.
Now, with the headline rate set high, it is likely to become the dominant factor in determining the overall rate for services, David Israelite, president and CEO of the NMPA, and Garrett Levin, president and CEO of DiMA, told Billboard in a joint phone call.
“What’s important is after eight years of conflict between [the services and music publishers], we have entered the future as business partners working together,” which could lead to other new developments, Israelite said, and Levin concurred.
Another source, who often works with music streaming services, adds that this settlement is good for both sides for a number reasons. “For one, it lets the industry to continue to grow; and the rates set in a settlement that not only won’t cripple the services but, secondly, it lets them know what the rates payouts [will be] with more certainty. Thirdly, both sides made concessions so that the services got favorable language on bundles and free trials that allows them to get more subscribers into the ecosystem, while giving the songwriters and publishers a little more in pay. All in all, everyone is growing — the services, the labels, the publishers and songwriters and how do we keep that momentum going. This settlement gives us a sustainable music ecosystem.”
The settlement also done one more thing for both sides: it saves millions of dollars in legal fees that the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) rate determination usually costs them.
Now, the settlement has been agreed to by most of the rate court settlement. It will be posted on the CRB’s website and undergo a comment period from interested parties. Following this period, the CRB still has to approve the settlement, which includes ensuring it is compliant with U.S. copyright laws.
More than a week after he was reported missing in Arizona, country singer Luke Bell was found dead in Tucson on Monday (August 29). He was 32 years old.
While a cause of death has not been given at press time, the Tucson Police Department confirmed to Billboard that “the investigation is on-going at the moment,” with no further details disclosed.
The late singer’s close friend and fellow country singer Matt Kinman, who said he was with Bell recently and had been taking care of him for six years as he navigated a severe battle with bipolar disorder, reportedly told Saving Country Music — which first reported the news — that Bell went missing on August 20.
Bell released his debut full-length album on Bandcamp, Don’t Mind If I Do, in 2014 and later signed to the Thirty Tigers label. Best known for his traditionalist honky tonk country songs “Where Ya Been?” and “The Bullfighter” from his 2016 self-titled Thirty Tigers debut, Bell’s most recent release was a 2021 cover of John Lennon’s 1971 ballad “Jealous Guy.”
Following the news of his untimely death, a number of stars took to social media to mourn the loss of an undeniable talent and friend. See thoughts from Jessica Chastain, Margo Price and more below.
This is so very sad. I wish we spoke more about mental illness. It needs the same support of any other disease. Please have a listen to #LukeBell today and honor this country soul who lost his battle. I hope he’s finally found the peace he sought.https://t.co/BnvFmhhKGv
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) August 31, 2022
goddamn, rest east to our dear friend, Luke Bell 💔 https://t.co/oeUMmRpipg
— Margo Price (@MissMargoPrice) August 30, 2022
Man…Luke Bell…what the fuck. RIP to a real one. Been a long time since I saw him and I was just talking about him the other day wondering what he’s been up to. Truly a sad night for country music.
— ʎǝlpǝH ɐnɥsoſ (@JoshuaHedley) August 30, 2022
A sad day for our Country Music community. Sending our thoughts and sympathies to Luke Bell’s family, friends, and fans. https://t.co/Mm36RSJbIV
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) August 31, 2022
Yungblud talks about some of the crazy shows he’s doing for his tour, being dubbed the “future of rock” by Rolling Stones icon Mick Jagger, his upcoming third album ‘Yungblud’ and more. You can pre-order Yungblud’s third album ‘Yungblud’ here out Friday September 2nd.
Meghan Trainor jumped on a popular TikTok trend Tuesday to look back at her rather regrettable choice to lock lips with Charlie Puth in 2015.
Using the viral sound “Hal Walker Plays the Banakulas,” the “Bad for Me” singer twerked it out while celebrating some career high points — namely her debut single “All About That Bass” reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning the Grammy for best new artist in 2016 — before the fun came to a hilarious halt.
“Making the decision to kiss Charlie Puth on national television in 2015,” the screen reads as Trainor mouths, “Two wads of masking tape tied together with a pink ribbon” and grimaces at the camera. (Trust us, the lip sync makes sense in the context of the challenge.)
The moment Trainor is referencing occurred at the 2015 American Music Awards where she performed her hit single “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” before being joined onstage by Puth for his flirty Nine Track Mind ode to teenage lust “Marvin Gaye.” At the end of the latter, Puth stepped out from behind the piano, Trainor beckoned him closer and the two embraced in a passionate kiss as the audience burst into surprised cheers.
The music video for the track also happens to end with the singers locking lips — but at the time, both stars insisted they were nothing more than friends and collaborators. These days, Trainor is married to husband Daryl Sabara of Spy Kids fame and prepping the release of her fifth album Takin’ It Back on Oct. 21. Coincidentally, Puth’s self-titled LP Charlie is set to arrive two weeks earlier, on Oct. 7.
Watch Trainor revisit her onstage makeout session below.
@meghantrainor It was a wild 3 years #grammys #allaboutthatbass #amas ♬ Hal Walker Plays the Banakulas – Hal Walker
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Amazon Studios’ highly anticipated series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere via Prime Video on Thursday (Sept. 1). Set thousands of years before the events in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the epic drama follows new and familiar characters battling a re-emergence of evil on Middle-earth.
According to Amazon, the series takes viewers back to an era “in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”
The series cast includes Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Nazanin Boniadi, Peter Mullan, Benjamin Walker, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Ema Horvath, Lenny Henry and Owain Arthur.
Read on for directions on how to stream the series for free.
How to Watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video for Free
The Lord of the Rings series is a Prime Original — which means that Prime members can stream the show at no additional charge.
Not a member yet? Join Prime under a free 30-day trial to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power alongside other content in the massive library of TV shows and movies, Thursday Night Football games and more.
Some of the exclusives available only on Prime Video include Samaritan, A League of Their Own, The Terminal List, Reacher, Making the Cut, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Harlem, The Boys, Fairfax, Upload, The Wheel of Time, The Legend of Vox Machina, I Want You Back and The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Prime Video
$14.99 a month after free 30-day trial
Love music? Prime Video has music-related movies, documentaries and exclusive concert films like Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby, The Weeknd x The Dawn FM Experience, Tyler the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost Tour Live and Mary J. Blige’s My Life.
After the free trial, Amazon Prime will cost $14.99 a month (or $139 a year). Besides instant access to Prime Video, the membership includes fast and free delivery on millions of items, exclusive discounts for Prime members only, two-hour grocery delivery via Amazon Fresh, unlimited photo storage, Amazon Music, Prime Gaming and other perks.
Additionally, Amazon Prime provides 50% discounts for qualifying students, EBT and Medicaid recipients. See details here.
You can also rent (or buy) movies such as The Lost City, Sonic: The Hedgehog 2, Top Gun: Maverick, Nope and Elvis on Prime Video and stream programs from other platforms, including Paramount+, Starz, Discovery+, BET+, AMC+, and Showtime.
Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday (Aug. 30) at R. Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago after presenting two weeks of testimony, including from four Kelly accusers, in their bid to prove the singer enticed underage girls for sex, produced child pornography and successfully rigged his 2008 state trial.
Among the last prosecution witnesses was a 42-year-old woman who went by the pseudonym “Nia.” Taking the stand Tuesday morning, she was the fourth and final accuser to testify at the trial in Kelly’s hometown. A fifth accuser, who prosecutors had said during openings would testify, never did. They didn’t explain why.
Through her testimony, Nia painted a picture of Kelly as a master manipulator who reeled in star-stuck fans, like her, to sexually abuse them and then discarded them.
The highlight of prosecutors’ case came two weeks ago with the testimony of a 37-year-old woman who used the pseudonym “Jane.” She described Kelly sexually abusing her hundreds of times starting in 1998 when she was 14 and Kelly was around 30.
Jane’s testimony is vital to the charge accusing Kelly of fixing his 2008 child pornography trial, at which he was acquitted. She testified that Kelly and his associates threatened and paid off her and her parents to lie to a grand jury before that trial.
Legal teams for Kelly and two co-defendants now get their chance to attack the government’s case. Judge Harry Leinenweber told jurors they would have Wednesday off, then return for the first defense witnesses Thursday. Closing arguments are expected to happen in the middle of next week.
A New York federal judge sentenced Kelly in June to 30 years in prison for convictions on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
Kelly gave Nia, an aspiring actress and model, his telephone number after the then-15 year-old asked him for an autograph at an Atlanta mall in 1996, she testified. She said Kelly knew her age when he invited her to a concert in Minnesota, bought her plane ticket and sent a limousine with an all-red interior to pick her up.
On the way to the airport, Nia stopped to buy a red rose for Kelly, which she placed in her hotel room. When Kelly came to her room, he kissed her, then told her to undress and sit next to him on the bed. She said she was uncomfortable but did as he said. After touching her and himself, he quickly left, she said.
“I never got the chance to give him the rose,” Nia told jurors.
Nia spoke calmly and clearly as Kelly, wearing in a dark blue suit and black face mask, sat some 25 feet (7.6 meters) in front of her and looked directly at her. When Jane testified earlier in the trial, he often kept his eyes down.
Nia said that for weeks after meeting Kelly, he promptly answered all her calls. But before long, he never answered them. When she saw him years later at a video shoot, she said she was hurt when he didn’t appear to recognize or acknowledge her.
She ended up suing Kelly in the early 2000s, alleging sexual abuse. Kelly quickly settled, paying her $500,000.
Kelly’s 2008 state trial revolved around a video prosecutors said showed him sexually abusing Jane. She did not testify at that trial, but she told jurors at the current trial that she was the child in the video and Kelly was the adult man. Jurors at the ongoing trial viewed excerpts of that video and two others.
Kelly sold millions of albums even after allegations about his abuse began circulating publicly in the 1990s. Widespread outrage didn’t emerge until after the #MeToo reckoning and the 2019 docuseries Surviving R. Kelly.
Kelly associates Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown are co-defendants at the Chicago trial. McDavid, a longtime Kelly business manager, is accused of helping Kelly rig the 2008 trial. Brown is charged with receiving child pornography. Like Kelly, they have denied wrongdoing.
