Songwriters and Labels Clash Over U.S. Mechanical Royalty Rate for 2028–2032
The Copyright Royalty Board has opened a comment period on a negotiated settlement that would set the U.S. mechanical royalty rate for songs sold on CDs, vinyl, cassettes and downloads for the 2028–2032 term — and the deal has split the music industry wide open.
The mechanical rate, which pays songwriters when their work is reproduced on physical products or as downloads, including ringtones, is the subject of a proceeding called Phonorecords V. The settlement covers what is known as the Subpart B rate and applies a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each year to the current rate level, according to Billboard.
Support for the deal is broad. The National Music Publishers Association, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, the Nashville Songwriters Association International, the Music Artists Coalition, and the American Association of Independent Music all back it. So do the Recording Academy, the American Independent Music Publishers, the Church Music Publishers Association, Songwriters of North America, the Production Music Association, Associated Production Music, and the Music Publishers Association of the United States Billboard.
Opponents are pushing back hard. Critics say the settlement's wording would reset the rate to 12 cents per song for the 2028 term rather than starting from the current COLA-adjusted figure of 13.1 cents — effectively rolling back gains won in the last cycle. A source within the settlement-negotiating camp calls that reading incorrect, insisting the proposed rate would begin at 13.1 cents per song Billboard.
The stakes have a history. In the prior 2023–2027 term, the mechanical rate started at 12 cents after the CRB judges rejected a proposed settlement that would have held the rate at 9.1 cents — a level that had not moved for 16 years. The judges then ordered COLA adjustments, which lifted the rate to its current 13.1 cents. Before that 25% increase, the board had maintained the existing rate at $0.091 per unit since 2006 Billboard.
Some opponents want a much higher number. Proposed alternatives range from 15.6 cents per song (or three cents per minute for songs longer than five minutes) up to 22 cents (or 6.6 cents per minute for songs over five minutes) Billboard.
The settlement emerged from a motion filed with the Copyright Royalty Judges on June 29, 2026, in which several participants reported reaching a partial agreement on rates and terms for making and distributing phonorecords. The Federal Register published notice of the partial settlement on July 10, 2026, under document number 2026-13996, and the CRB subsequently extended the comment window Federal Register.
What makes this fight sharper is the gap between the two sides' starting points. The difference between 12 cents and 13.1 cents may sound small. Multiplied across millions of physical and download sales over five years, it is the kind of money that decides whether a working songwriter can keep doing the job. The Subpart B rate is one piece of a larger puzzle — the Phonorecords V proceeding will also establish streaming royalty rates for the upcoming term, where the far larger dollars in modern music consumption are at stake.
The comment period now gives every party — major, independent, publisher, songwriter — a formal channel to argue their case before the CRB judges decide whether to adopt, modify, or reject the settlement.
