Music Streamers Agree to Royalty Collective Funding Levels (1)

Digital streaming companies such as Spotify and Apple Music have reached an agreement to fund a new music licensing collective that will collect royalties from them and distribute the money to songwriters, publishers, and other music copyright holders.

The streamers will pay $33.5 million for startup costs and anticipates $28.5 million for costs in 2021, the first year that the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) will be active, the collective and the streamers, represented by a newly designated nonprofit Digital Licensee Coordinator, said in a Nov. 14 statement.

“Today’s agreement between the LMC and DLC represents a landmark achievement for every ...