Copyright Royalty Board Issues Rate Increase To Pandora

On December 16, 2015, the Copyright Royalty Board released its much-anticipated ruling, increasing the royalty amount that Pandora and other digital streaming services must pay to stream music in 2016.

The CRB's ruling, which will be released in full after the parties redact confidential information, distinguishes between nonsubscription and subscription services. The CRB cracked down on nonsubscription services, raising the royalty rate for every 100 songs to 17 cents (up three cents from the current 14 cents per 100 songs). It lowered the royalty rate for subscription services by one cent, down to 22 cents. This is significant for companies like Pandora, where 95 percent of listeners are nonsubscribers.