Songwriters sing blues over diminished royalties from online streaming

Los Angeles

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 on Wednesday, songwriters and the organisations 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.

On-demand streaming has boosted overall industry sales two years in a row, surpassing iTunes and physical CDs as the largest source of revenue for the music industry. Songwriters say the shift has cut their pay and see the hearing as their best chance to propose a palatable…