When Bloomberg reported that Spotify would be upping the cost of its premium subscription from $9.99 to $10.99, and including 15 hours of audiobooks per month in the U.S., the change sounded like a win for songwriters and publishers. Higher subscription prices typically equate to a bump in U.S. mechanical royalties — but not this time.

By adding audiobooks into Spotify’s premium tier, the streaming service now claims it qualifies to pay a discounted “bundle” rate to songwriters for premium streams, given Spotify now has to pay licensing for both books and music from the same price tag — which will only be a dollar higher than when music was the only premium offering. Additionally, Spotify will reclassify its duo and family subscription plans as bundles as well.

  • Bluefalcon
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    7 months ago

    What are you talking about?

    Thought of calling ya
    But you won’t pick up
    Another fortnight lost in America
    Move to Florida
    Buy the car you want
    But it won’t start up
    Til you touch, touch, touch me

    Those are lyrics written by an actual God.