Ask almost anyone in the music industry about streaming royalties and you will hear the same question: Are artists and songwriters being paid fairly? What receives far less attention are the mechanics that determine how royalties are calculated — and right now, those rules are being rewritten.
Earlier this year, streaming services, labels, songwriters, and publishers began the Phonorecords V (Phono V) proceedings before the Copyright Royalty Board. This rate-setting process is split into two, with one determining mechanical rates for physical records like vinyl, CDs and permanent downloads and one determining how streaming platforms calculate and pay statutory mechanical royalties to songwriters and publishers in the United States from 2028 through 2032.