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Spotify Beats MLC Audiobook Lawsuit After Judge Calls Federal Royalty Rules ‘Unambiguous’

Spotify won a ruling dismissing the Mechanical Licensing Collective's lawsuit alleging the streamer illegally cut royalty rates by adding audiobooks.

The MLC, which collects streaming royalties for songwriters and publishers, filed its lawsuit in late May — a week after Billboard estimated that Spotify’s move would result in the company paying roughly $150 million less over the next year. MLC’s attorneys had argued that audiobooks were that kind of “token” non-factor, since Spotify didn’t raises prices when it added them and a small proportion of subscribers actually listen to them. Spotify moved to dismiss the case in August, calling it “nonsensical” and “wasteful.” The company’s attorneys blasted the MLC’s argument that the audiobooks were aimed at a legal loophole, saying it “profoundly devalues the contributions of the tens of thousands of book authors.”

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