Ringtone Royalty Rate Gets Big Boost

by | 17 Nov, 2008

Here’s some great news for when Bluegrass Music makes it to the Ringtone Download Top 40.

Songwriters and music publishers say they’re pleased with a U.S. Copyright Royalty Board ruling issued Thursday that sets a higher rate for ringtones but keeps a 9.1-cents mechanical royalty on all other music, including compact discs and digital download services.

The board set a 24-cent royalty on downloads of musical ringtones for cell phones, which were expected to bring in $510 million in retail sales in 2008, according to BMI. Those royalties previously had been included in the 9.1-cent rate, but the songwriters wanted an increase and got more than they had asked for, said Steve Bogard, president of the Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Read the full story in the Tennessean

0 Comments