Good news for musicians: The US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has increased the rates for satellite radio services in the United States by more than 40%, from 11% of revenue to 15.5% of revenue, effective January 1, 2018 until December 31, 2022. The new rates have been announced by the board on December 14.
The raise has been asked by several artist advocates, noteworthy that lobbying doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.
Sirius XM, the only satellite radio service in the United States affected by this raise, reported revenues of $5 billion in 2016. This would mean, that there is an additional 250 million dollars to share in the music business. Hopefully, artists will get their fair share.