The case accused Spotify of using audiobooks as a pretext to illegally cut music royalties, but a federal judge now says the streamer did nothing wrong.
The U.S.-based collection society, which was recently accepted into CISAC, is expanding its services beyond performance royalty collection.
The MLC has pulled in the independent experts at Beatdapp to supplement the internal process it already has in place to curb fraud.
"We are robust in defending the MMA," DiMA president/CEO Graham Davies says. "We’ve got some things to resolve, but we can do those while working with the MLC."
The new rule clears up uncertainty about who gets paid streaming royalties when songwriters take back their music rights – a trickier question than it sounds.
The majors’ share of the streaming market is slowly slipping. But some newer industry rules will favor them — at the expense of independent and DIY artists and songwriters.
The MLC reports more than $400 million in adjusted royalties were underpaid between 2018 and 2022, but the actual amount still left to be paid out is likely smaller.
This process, which will occur every five years, allows the U.S. Copyright Office to assess the MLC and DLC's operations.
Bridgeport, which has sued over 800 artists and labels for copyright infringement, is the first music company to exercise audit rights for the collection society.
