Bill Introduced to Increase Streaming Payments for Musicians

Maybe politicians are useful sometimes, as Congressional members in the U.S. are attempting to help musicians make a little extra scratch from online streaming platforms through a newly introduced bill. If passed into law, the Living Wage for Musicians Act would call for a number of pro-artist changes, the biggest of which would be an increase on the streaming royalty rate.

We’ve reported on this in the past, but to bring you up to speed, artists are getting royally fucked by the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, and the like. As it stands today, every time you listen to a song on one of those streaming services, the artist makes a fraction of a penny. Under the newly proposed bill that was introduced by Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), that rate would be increased to a minimum of a penny per listen.

Given the fact that Spotify pays around $0.003 and $0.005 per stream, that would be a huge jump. At those rates, a press release for the bill states, “it takes artists more than 800,000 monthly streams to equal a full-time $15/hour job.”

According to the bill, the increased royalties would be covered by those subscription fees we’re all paying, as well as a “10% levy on non-subscription revenue,” meaning even those using the services for free would help pay the new artist rate through advertising revenue. A press release further explained how things would work.

“[The Living Wage for Musicians Act] is designed to ensure that artists receive a minimum of one penny per stream, an amount calculated to provide a working class artist a living wage from streaming. The royalty would be paid out proportionally from a central fund, with a cap placed on how much an individual track can earn, to ensure a more equitable distribution of payments.”

That last bit is particularly important, as it means mega artists like Taylor Swift wouldn’t hoover up all the funds, leaving smaller artists and bands high and dry.

The two representatives aren’t the only ones taking up the fight in favor of this bill, as they’ve teamed up with various artists from around the U.S. and the United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) union to push for its passage.

Talib said the push to make things better for musicians has been a long time coming.

“Streaming has changed the music industry, but it’s leaving countless artists struggling to make ends meet… It’s only right that the people who create the music we love get their fair share, so that they can thrive, not just survive.”