Music Publishers Propose 20% Streaming Royalty Rate as Amazon Seeks Cuts for 2028–2032

U.S. music publishers and songwriters are seeking a larger share of streaming revenue as the next round of statutory royalty proceedings begins. In the Phonorecords V proceeding before the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) and Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) have proposed increasing the all-in musical composition royalty rate to 20% of streaming revenue for 2028–2032. Four major streaming services—Spotify, Apple, Google and Pandora—want to maintain the 15.35% rate scheduled for 2027, while Amazon is seeking to reduce the headline rate to 13.4%.

The competing proposals were submitted on October 5, 2026, with public versions filed October 7. They represent the parties' opening positions, not final royalty rates. The CRB will determine the statutory framework governing eligible U.S. interactive streaming services for the five-year period beginning January 1, 2028.

Proposed Streaming Royalty Rates for 2028–2032

These figures are proposed all-in musical composition royalty rates covering both mechanical and performance rights. They are not mechanical-only rates or fixed payments per stream.

Publishers Seek Four Alternative Royalty Calculations

The NMPA and NSAI proposal would require streaming services to calculate their all-in royalty obligation using whichever of four measures produces the highest amount:

• 20% of applicable service revenue
• 40% of total content costs (TCC), generally representing qualifying payments to recording rights holders
• $2.40 per subscriber per month
• $0.004 per stream

The proposed subscriber and per-stream minimums would also receive annual inflation adjustments.

The structure is intended to prevent composition royalties from declining relative to the economics of recorded music or being reduced through changes in subscription packaging. The proposed per-stream minimum would establish an additional calculation independent of subscription revenue, including for eligible ad-supported streaming activity.

The publishers also want to eliminate certain discounted subscriber calculations, strengthen access to usage information and prevent subscription bundles from reducing royalties through artificially low allocations to music.

Amazon Proposes Lower Rates and Minimums

Amazon's proposal goes beyond reducing the headline revenue rate from 15.35% to 13.4%.

For applicable non-bundled services, Amazon seeks to reduce the TCC percentage from 26.2% to 22.8%, the standard standalone subscription calculation from $1.10 to $0.96 per subscriber, and the mechanical royalty floor from $0.60 to $0.52.

For certain bundled subscriptions, Amazon proposes eliminating the revenue-percentage calculation altogether and reducing the applicable TCC rate from 24.5% to 21.3%. It also seeks lower per-subscriber floors.

Amazon's position differs from the other major streaming services, which generally argue that the existing Phonorecords IV settlement provides an appropriate framework for the next rate period.

The Dispute Over Bundled Subscriptions

Subscription bundling remains a major issue in the proceeding.

Under the existing framework, streaming services can qualify for different royalty calculations when music is packaged with other products or services. These provisions became especially contentious after Spotify introduced audiobooks into certain Premium subscription plans in 2024, followed by similar changes at Amazon.

Publishers argue that these arrangements can reduce the revenue attributed to music and therefore the mechanical royalties payable to songwriters and publishers.

Their new proposal would tighten the conditions under which a subscription qualifies as a bundle, including requiring components to be genuinely available as separately priced products. The objective is to prevent services from restructuring subscription offerings primarily to reduce music royalty obligations.

How the Proposed Rates Would Affect Mechanical Royalties

The proposed 20% rate is an all-in composition royalty rate, not a 20% mechanical royalty paid directly through the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC).

Under the statutory streaming framework, services first determine the applicable all-in composition royalty pool. Public-performance royalty obligations are then accounted for, with the remaining mechanical obligation administered through the MLC where the blanket license applies.

The NMPA and NSAI are proposing an additional protection that would limit performance royalty deductions so that mechanical royalties represent at least 50% of the calculated all-in pool.

This distinction matters because increasing the headline rate does not necessarily produce a proportional increase in MLC distributions. The outcome depends on the applicable royalty calculation, performance royalty deductions and the final regulations.

What Happens Next

The Phonorecords V proceeding will determine how eligible U.S. streaming services calculate statutory mechanical royalties from 2028 through 2032. The parties may negotiate a settlement or continue through the CRB's rate-setting process.

The difference between the publishers' 20% proposal and Amazon's 13.4% proposal amounts to 6.6 percentage points of applicable streaming revenue. However, the actual financial impact cannot be determined from the headline percentages alone because content-cost calculations, subscriber minimums, performance deductions and bundling provisions can change the amount owed.

No proposed rate has been adopted. Until new regulations take effect, the existing Phonorecords IV framework continues to govern applicable streaming royalties.