The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board announced yesterday that the royalty rate will remain at 9.1 cents per song for the next five years. The upcoming ruling got a lot of attention after it emerged that Apple would prefer to shut down the iTunes store than have it turn into a money-losing proposition. With razor-thin margins, an increase to 15 cents per song as requested by music publishers, could have pushed iTunes into the red.
In the end, none of the involved parties got what they really wanted but they all appear satisfied with the ruling. The The National Music Publishers’ Association was relieved that rates were not cut as some had been pushing for. Record labels and the Digital Media Association, representing online music stores including Apple, Amazon.com and Best Buy, also seemed satisfied.
Royalties for ring tones were set at 24 cents.