"All About That Bass" paid out $5600 in streaming royalties
Sept 23, 2015 8:25:40 GMT -6
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jcoutu1 likes this
Post by Johnkenn on Sept 23, 2015 8:25:40 GMT -6
To one of the co-writers.
"All About That Bass" had 178,000,000 streams that paid out a grand total of $11,200 to be split between two writers. You can have the No.1 song in 78 Countries and be compensated at a rate three times below the poverty level. If this was ANY other profession, people would be rioting in the streets.
www.tennessean.com/story/money/industries/music/2015/09/22/all-bass-writer-decries-streaming-revenue/72570464/?post_id=728450655_10154271262595656#_=_
A co-writer behind the international smash hit "All About That Bass" said he was only paid $5,679 in streaming revenue, crystallizing the plight of songwriters as he spoke to key members of Congress during a roundtable discussion Tuesday about music copyright.
The roundtable was hosted at Belmont University on Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee, which is taking a listening tour after nearly two years, 20 hearings and more than 100 witness testimonies in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, the committee chairman, said the goal is to escape Washington and hear from Nashville stakeholders about how they're affected by the current music copyright climate. Goodlatte began by asking the 21-member panel representing record label executives, publishers, songwriters, music industry advocacy groups, attorneys and broadcasters about where there is agreement on what changes are necessary to the copyright system.
Producer and songwriter Kevin Kadish, one of the first speakers, zeroed in on financial challenges songwriters face with music streaming services.
"I've never heard a songwriter complain about radio royalties as much as streaming royalties," Kadish said. "That was the real issue fU.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, middle, hosted a copyright listening session Tuesday at Belmont University in Nashville.
Collins is the lead sponsor of the Songwriter Equity Act, legislation designed to improve royalty payouts to publishers and songwriters such as Kadish. Collins told The Tennessean afterward that he believes the listening session served to highlight the points of agreement between the splintered factions of Nashville's music industry.
Collins said it was useful to hear from creators on the impact of the fast-growing streaming marketplace. The Recording Industry Association of America reported on Monday that streaming revenues have eclipsed $1 billion. But songwriters and publishers argue they're not getting their fair share of the pie.
"The thing I felt the best about was there is common ground on a number of issues," Collins said. "And the (agreement was that) there is inequity at this point — how you solve that inequity there may be some disagreement. But we're moving to some ideas that would remove the governmental barriers. Almost everyone said, except for the ones who want status quo, that the government part of it is something that could be removed, and there's a better way to fix that."
Music copyright reform is a complicated, tangled issue that pits business partners on opposite sides of some proposals and in agreement on others.
Representatives from the radio broadcast industry made clear their opposition to the creation of a performance royalty for terrestrial radio, which is a proposal on the table with the Fair Play, Fair Pay Act. Questions of whether a single federal judge or private arbitrators should settle royalty rate disputes bogged down the conversation.or us, like 1 million streams equals $90. For a song like 'All About That Bass,' that I wrote, which had 178 million streams. I mean $5,679? That's my share. That's as big a song as a songwriter can have in their career and No. 1 in 78 countries. But you're making $5,600. How do you feed your family?"
Five Republicans, including four members of the Judiciary Committee, were on hand for the listening tour. They were Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California; Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas; and Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia. Brentwood Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn was also in attendance.
"All About That Bass" had 178,000,000 streams that paid out a grand total of $11,200 to be split between two writers. You can have the No.1 song in 78 Countries and be compensated at a rate three times below the poverty level. If this was ANY other profession, people would be rioting in the streets.
www.tennessean.com/story/money/industries/music/2015/09/22/all-bass-writer-decries-streaming-revenue/72570464/?post_id=728450655_10154271262595656#_=_
A co-writer behind the international smash hit "All About That Bass" said he was only paid $5,679 in streaming revenue, crystallizing the plight of songwriters as he spoke to key members of Congress during a roundtable discussion Tuesday about music copyright.
The roundtable was hosted at Belmont University on Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee, which is taking a listening tour after nearly two years, 20 hearings and more than 100 witness testimonies in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, the committee chairman, said the goal is to escape Washington and hear from Nashville stakeholders about how they're affected by the current music copyright climate. Goodlatte began by asking the 21-member panel representing record label executives, publishers, songwriters, music industry advocacy groups, attorneys and broadcasters about where there is agreement on what changes are necessary to the copyright system.
Producer and songwriter Kevin Kadish, one of the first speakers, zeroed in on financial challenges songwriters face with music streaming services.
"I've never heard a songwriter complain about radio royalties as much as streaming royalties," Kadish said. "That was the real issue fU.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, middle, hosted a copyright listening session Tuesday at Belmont University in Nashville.
Collins is the lead sponsor of the Songwriter Equity Act, legislation designed to improve royalty payouts to publishers and songwriters such as Kadish. Collins told The Tennessean afterward that he believes the listening session served to highlight the points of agreement between the splintered factions of Nashville's music industry.
Collins said it was useful to hear from creators on the impact of the fast-growing streaming marketplace. The Recording Industry Association of America reported on Monday that streaming revenues have eclipsed $1 billion. But songwriters and publishers argue they're not getting their fair share of the pie.
"The thing I felt the best about was there is common ground on a number of issues," Collins said. "And the (agreement was that) there is inequity at this point — how you solve that inequity there may be some disagreement. But we're moving to some ideas that would remove the governmental barriers. Almost everyone said, except for the ones who want status quo, that the government part of it is something that could be removed, and there's a better way to fix that."
Music copyright reform is a complicated, tangled issue that pits business partners on opposite sides of some proposals and in agreement on others.
Representatives from the radio broadcast industry made clear their opposition to the creation of a performance royalty for terrestrial radio, which is a proposal on the table with the Fair Play, Fair Pay Act. Questions of whether a single federal judge or private arbitrators should settle royalty rate disputes bogged down the conversation.or us, like 1 million streams equals $90. For a song like 'All About That Bass,' that I wrote, which had 178 million streams. I mean $5,679? That's my share. That's as big a song as a songwriter can have in their career and No. 1 in 78 countries. But you're making $5,600. How do you feed your family?"
Five Republicans, including four members of the Judiciary Committee, were on hand for the listening tour. They were Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California; Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas; and Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia. Brentwood Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn was also in attendance.
