National Music Publishers' Association

“Music in podcasts should be a revenue source for songwriters and publishers,” said NMPA Chief Executive?David Israelite. The fast-growing genre is ripe for clean up when it comes to its use of unlicensed music, he said.

Just hours after?#Spotify announced its first-ever annual net profit, the National Music Publishers’ Association has launched an ongoing takedown initiative against the streaming giant for the unlicensed use of music in podcasts on its platform. Beginning today (Feb. 4), notices will be sent to remove thousands of unlicensed uses of #NMPA members’ works, according to the announcement. Over 2,500 detections of infringement are included in the initial takedown notices.?The move follows the trade group’s 2024 legal action against?Spotify?over its?controversial audiobooks-music “bundling”?deal, which significantly lowered the royalties paid out to music rights holders.

The #NMPA has been warning of this for some time. In May 2024, the organization?sent a letter to #Spotify?declaring that the streaming platform “displays lyrics and reproduces and distributes music videos and podcasts using musical works” without permission or compensation to songwriters and publishers.

Israelite adds: “#Podcasts are a growing source of revenue for songwriters and publishers, and it is essential that podcasts provide lawfully produced entertainment. This is not hard to do, and #Spotify knows, and has known, how to fix this problem for their users. We hope podcast hosts will stand up for their fellow creators and demand that Spotify do better.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by?the #NMPA. Music has always been my way of connecting with the world, and seeing it resonate in this way is truly humbling,” said Dean, who?signed?a global deal with SMP in October.

David Israelite President/CEO | National Music Publishers’ Association The NMPA’s main focus is “the continuation of the fight over fair compensation for streaming,” Israelite says. The most important aspect of that is the conflict regarding how Spotify bundled music with audiobooks in order to reduce the royalties it pays music publishers — and, through them, songwriters — to the tune of $213?million in mechanical royalties in 2024 alone, according to the NMPA. Right now, it appears other companies will not follow this lead; Amazon’s bundle, announced in November, won’t decrease publishing royalties. On the horizon: the next rate-setting case for streaming mechanicals, due to start in 2026, which will cover 2028-2032. Settlement negotiations with some steamers have begun, Israelite says, but “we expect to be litigating against Spotify.” Also, the NMPA-Twitter (now known as X) lawsuit “marches forward.”

National Music Publishers Assn. president/CEO David Israelite said of the deal: “The announcement of a deal between #Spotify and #UMPG bodes well for the industry and is a clear sign that Spotify felt the backlash to its bundling scheme.?

Leading up to this point, major music publishers—represented by the?NMPA?and its battling CEO David Israelite—spent a good chunk of 2024?pushing back against Spotify’s bundling shenanigans, which involved significantly lowered royalty payments to publishers and songwriters. The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) even sued Spotify over the bundling shifts, though Spotify has been litigating back. At one point, David Israelite even started pushing for a direct licensing structure between music publishers and streaming platforms to complement current statutory rates. Israelite certainly has the pull on Capitol Hill, though it’s unclear where those direct-licensing efforts stand now.

Via Billboard - Songwriters Jessi Alexander, Amy Allen, Jessie Jo Dillon and RAYE will not be attending or performing at Spotify’s Songwriter of the Year #Grammy party slated for Jan. 28, with Allen and Dillon citing Spotify’s treatment of songwriters as the reason for their absence. Israelite has also voiced his disapproval over #Spotify’s Songwriter of the Year party, saying in an?Instagram post: “Is this a joke? Spotify declares war on #songwriters. Is attempting to gut what they pay them. Is being sued by the MLC. And they think they can throw a party honoring songwriters??

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