HITS has obtained a letter Warner Chappell chiefs Guy Moot and Carianne Marshall sent to their U.S. songwriters about this year's Copyright Royalty Board proceedings.

The duo spells out the legal battles with streaming services over the last four years and their advocacy for an increase in the rate paid to 20%.

Here’s the letter.

To our Warner Chappell songwriting family,

As your partners and your champions, we wanted to let you know about a crucial fight that will determine what you make from streaming both now and in the years to come.

In the U.S., there’s a portion of your revenue from streaming services (such as Spotify, Apple and Amazon)—mechanical revenue—that’s determined every five years by three judges who make up the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) in Washington, D.C.

By early next year, in a proceeding known as Phono IV, the CRB will determine the mechanical royalty rates that streaming services will pay music publishers and songwriters between 2023 and 2027.

This is a critical moment. Not only will the CRB decide the future mechanical royalty rates for streaming, there’s also a “ripple effect,” where the CRB’s decision can influence other negotiations with streaming services, as well as future rates.

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