Topic
Publishers want a 20% headline streaming mechanical rate for 2028 to 2032. Spotify, Apple, Google and Pandora want to keep 15.35%, and Amazon wants it cut to 13.4%. Meanwhile, a deal on CD, vinyl and download rates, struck mostly by labels and their sister publishers, is being challenged by the independent songwriters it left out.
Industryvia Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress (Federal Register)
Michael Smith, who used AI-generated songs and bot accounts to drain streaming royalty pools, was sentenced to 18 months and ordered to forfeit about 8.09 million dollars. The next day the US Copyright Office published a public inquiry into streaming fraud, with comments due 23 Nov 2026. For artists it is the first official place to put on record what fraud costs them.
Industryvia U.S. Copyright Office, Federal Register
The 2018 Music Modernization Act rebuilt US streaming mechanicals, brought pre-1972 recordings into federal law and wrote producer royalties into the statute. It left AM/FM radio untouched, and unclaimed song money still goes out by market share. Here is what each part does for you, with worked examples and a checklist.
Artist rightsvia U.S. Copyright Office
Sub-Saharan Africa's recorded music revenues grew 15.2% in 2025 to $120 million, and digital income grew faster still. But South Africa takes 78.1% of that, collecting societies across the continent took in only €90 million in 2024, and nobody publishes fraud rates for African markets. For African artists the growth is real; the plumbing that turns plays into payments is not keeping up.
Industryvia IFPI
A publishing deal decides who owns part of your song, who registers it, and for how long. Admin deals leave ownership with you for a fee. Co-pub and full publishing deals trade a share of the copyright for an advance and a team. Here is how the money splits, how long the rights stay away, and why the catalogue sales of 2026 make ownership the part to guard.
Industryvia ASCAP
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