Music publishers accuse Spotify of 'bait-and-switch subscription scheme'

Spotify has once again drawn the ire of the music industry. The National Music Publishers' Association has called on the Federal Trade Commission to examine the streaming service's addition of audiobook content into all of its paid subscription plans. According to the group's FTC complaint, Spotify's recent actions are part of "a scheme to increase profits by deceiving consumers and cheating the music royalty system." This requires some backstory. In November 2023, Spotify announced that it would include 15 hours of audiobook content as part of all its Premium subscription plans. A few months later, the company unveiled a new audiobook-only subscription, offering the same number of listening hours for $10 a month. The publishers' organization claims that Spotify's recent price increases are based on offering that extra audiobook content, and that paying customers are automatically being charged for a service they didn't choose and can't opt out of without switching to the free, ad-supported listening experience. And the additional revenue from the higher Premium subscription costs may not go to the music composers. According to the FTC complaint, Spotify will pay about $150 million less in music royalties over the first year of these new bundled Premium plans. The NMPA letter goes so far as to call the new audiobook-only plan "a sham" that "exists solely to allow Spotify to claim that audiobook content is a significantly and independently valuable aspect of its 'bundled'... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2024-06-12 23:52:55 UTC ]
News tagged with: #deceiving consumers #company unveiled #listening hours #organization claims #paying customers #additional revenue #$150 million #nmpa letter #exists solely #early stage #planned overhaul #royalty model #routinely criticized #streaming ecosystem #audiobook

Other news stories related to: "Music publishers accuse Spotify of 'bait-and-switch subscription scheme'"


Music publishers accuse Spotify of 'bait-and-switch subscription scheme'

Spotify has once again drawn the ire of the music industry. The National Music Publishers' Association has called on the Federal Trade Commission to examine the streaming service's addition of audiobook content into all of its paid subscription plans. According to the group's FTC complaint,... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-06-12 23:52:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #audiobook #royalty model #early stage #$150 million #paying customers #deceiving consumers


Apple Music sets up publishing division as it chases down Spotify

Apple Music has been on its way to overtake Spotify in terms of subscriber base for a while now. The service got a new boss, Oliver Schusser, this past April, as well. Now, Schusser's first major initiative appears to be the launch of Apple's own mus... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orbital Publishing Accused of Fraud in Selling Subscriptions

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Peloton told it can't countersue music publishers over high workout music prices

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[ Engadget | 2020-01-30 13:20:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Harmonized With Global Music Rights, HFA/Rumblefish, Kobalt Music Publishing

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Publishing Scotland launches development scheme for publishers

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Spotify Adds 1,000 Audiobooks from 100 Publishers Distributed by Ingram

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Spotify’s new audiobook bundle may reduce music royalties and shortchange authors | Millicent Weber for the Conversation

Music artists say the bundle is ‘cheating’ the royalties system while authors have concerns about how streaming will affect how they’re paid and rights over their workAudio streaming giant Spotify, one of the world’s largest audio platforms, entered the audiobook market last October, offering... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-07-02 03:23:25 UTC ]
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‘Songwriters deserve a bigger piece of the pie’: the music publishing boss on the threat of AI

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[ The Guardian | 2024-06-25 13:00:26 UTC ]
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Spotify rolls out an audiobook-only subscription

Spotify has added another subscription option. This time around, it's offering a plan that has little to do with music. The Audiobooks Access Tier (which is US-only for now) offers 15 hours of audiobook listening each month for $10. You'll have access to Spotify's library of more than 200,000... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-03-01 18:08:29 UTC ]
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Spotify Launches $9.99 Audiobook Subscription Tier

Spotify has added a new option that gives users 15 hours to listen to audiobooks for $9.99—a dollar less than a Premium subscription, which offers the same 15 hours per month, plus ad-free music, for $10.99. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Spotify claims to have paid audiobook publishers ‘tens of millions’ in royalties

The streaming company says its payout model is competitive, but the Society of Authors has raised doubts about whether authors ultimately benefit Spotify has said that it has paid audiobook publishers “tens of millions” since allowing users 15 hours of audiobook listening in its Premium... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-02-01 16:08:34 UTC ]
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Spotify CEO Daniel Ek explains the company’s new audiobook subscription plan

Ek blames Apple for holding back his company’s first foray into audiobooks and confirms his company is in talks with Google about in-app purchases. Spotify is doubling down on audiobooks: Paying subscribers of the music service will now have access to up to 15 hours of audiobook listening as... Continue reading at Fast Company

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Publishers' New Music Books Sing With Spirit

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Spotify debuts its TikTok-style music discovery feed

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[ Engadget | 2023-03-08 18:33:59 UTC ]
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Digiday+ Research: News Publisher Subscription Index

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Spotify accuses Apple of impeding its fledgling audiobook business

Spotify launched its audiobook business just last month with 300,000 titles, but is now saying that Apple is engaging in "anticompetitive" behavior that is impinging the new business, the company wrote in a blog post. It said that Apple rejected its audiobook purchasing system three times due to... Continue reading at Engadget

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