In a roundtable discussion on copyright, "All About That Bass" co-writer Kevin Kadine revealed that he only made $5,679 despite the more than 178 million Spotify streams for the song.
The discussion, which was hosted by the Belmont University of Nashville and was led by the House Judiciary Committee, opened with Kadine's revelation on his earnings on "All About That Bass." His reported figure means that the songwriter made $31.90 for every 1 million streams, though he did not clarify how the proceeds were split between him and singer Meghan Trainor, who shares songwriting credits for the song.
Kadine, however, alleged that the average payout for the songwriting team of a song is about $90 per 1 million streams.
"That's as big a song as a songwriter can have in their career, and number one in 78 countries," said Kadine. "But you're making $5,600. How do you feed your family?"
Kadine, along with other songwriters, were issuing their complaints to members of Congress - and not to executives of streaming services such as Spotify and music label companies - because their pay for their songs are governed by a mechanical license. The license states that streaming music companies such as Spotify do not need to negotiate with the songwriters over what their per-play fees for songs should be, as the rate is set by the government of the United States.
Kadine is urging Congress to pass the Songwriter Equity Act, which will update two parts of the copyright law of the United States to create a fair rate standard for mechanical licenses. Other speakers involved in the roundtable were also pushing to create a centralized database for music copyrights to make improvements in transparency and to make licensing simpler.
The Songwriter Equity Act will develop a willing seller, willing buyer arrangement between songwriters and publishers. Owners of copyrights will be able to offer their songs at fair market value, including synchronized licensing, as possible evidence when raising the issue of royalty rates for digital music.
Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia, is the lead sponsor of the Songwriter Equity Act, and he thinks that the roundtable highlighted certain agreeable points between opposing factions in the music industry of Nashville.
Photo: Sorosh Tavakoli | Flickr
