Spotify Royalty Drama Casts Shadow Over Songwriter Consensus

Musicians and streaming services’ compromise over songwriters’ royalties is corroding just six years after landmark legislation was enacted to redefine music copyright law and the licensing regime used to distribute industry revenue.

Spotify Technology SA’s move in March to reclassify its premium subscription service narrowed its royalty payments and lit a fuse that sparked a lawsuit against it, a push from the music publishing industry to change the law, and a novel complaint against the streaming giant at the Federal Trade Commission.

The flurry of activity in the songwriter and music publishing industry is reminiscent of the “end of a ...