Songwriter Pay
The current state of the music industry is not one that implicitly supports songwriters. On a good day, the publishing of a song might make $.005 per stream - which is less than one cent. Because most songs are co-written, that streaming royalty will then get divided into an even smaller number. That reality has decreased the number of individuals who can make a livable wage from songwriting. The question then is how can the industry change to rectify this morally inept system?
The most obvious answer is to increase the amount that songwriters make per stream. Groups like UMAW are advocating for a 1 cent per stream system. Spotify’s annual revenue increased 27.07% from 2020 to 2021 and then 8.02% from 2021 to 2022 for a sum total of 12.3536 Billion dollars in revenue. The streaming companies have money to share.
Beyond this, there should be a standardization of writing fees both for label and independent releases. Artist and labels pay out large sums of money for production fees already while skirting payment of songwriters who’s contributions are essential to the success of a song. It is unethical not to pay songwriters a fee on par with that of a producer especially when a label is involved. Indie musicians should do their best to factor in a writer’s fee whenever possible.
Lastly, writers deserve points on the master. Master revenue outpaces publishing revenue. Artists and producers typically share master in some sort of split. When a label is involved, the label might take the majority of the master while the artists and producers receive a smaller share. In most negotiations, songwriters are left out of the conversation entirely. This needs to change. Again, songwriters are an invaluable part of the process and should benefit from the longterm revenue streams that a song provides. 1-5 points on the master should suffice.
Songwriters deserve to make a livable wage especially when their work is generating huge sums of money for artists, labels, and technology companies. The money exists but is being hoarded, often by labels and tech companies who undervalue the workers who make their businesses possible. This needs to change.
