{"id":103150,"date":"2025-02-03T10:44:43","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T10:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=103150"},"modified":"2025-02-03T10:44:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T10:44:46","slug":"spotify-wins-mlc-bundling-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/spotify-wins-mlc-bundling-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotify wins MLC bundling lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Court dismisses MLC\u2019s case, allowing Spotify to maintain lower bundled royalty rates.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What happened?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Almost eight months ago, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) filed a lawsuit<\/a> against Spotify. It\u2019s argument? Spotify\u2019s decision to reclassify its US subscriptions as music-and-audiobook bundles was an unfair tactic to reduce mechanical royalty payments to songwriters and publishers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revenue from bundled services is treated differently from standalone music subscription revenue, leading to lower mechanical royalty rates. Since an estimated 99%<\/a> <\/strong>of Spotify\u2019s US subscriptions fall under the bundled category, insiders estimated that this move could cost songwriters and publishers as much as $150 million<\/a><\/strong> in its first year alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MLC, a non-profit designated by the US Copyright Office, is responsible for ensuring that streaming services like Spotify pay the mechanical royalties owed to songwriters and music publishers. However, the court has now ruled in Spotify\u2019s favour<\/a>, dismissing the case \u201cwith prejudice\u201d. Therefore, it cannot be refiled, though it can still be appealed on legal grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spotify and MLC go head-to-head over royalty changes<\/a><\/blockquote>