The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has allowed streaming services to use unredacted documents from the Web VI proceeding in the Phono V case. Chief Copyright Royalty Judge Trevor Jefferson approved the access in a brief order, with several conditions attached.
The motion came from Pandora, Spotify, Apple and Amazon, which filed it near the start of September.
Why the Services Asked for Access
The request arrived during a contentious rate-setting process for interactive streaming mechanicals covering 2028 through 2032. A similarly heated proceeding is underway for permanent downloads and physical releases. For the non-interactive use of recordings, parties including SiriusXM and SoundExchange have been taking part in the Web VI (2026-2030) proceeding for some time.
The DSPs (digital service providers) cited overlapping evidence and potentially useful “economic analyses,” among other reasons. In the motion, the Phono V participants wrote:
“Although this proceeding concerns mechanical royalty rates for interactive streaming services, it follows the same willing-buyer-willing-seller legal standard applied in Web VI. The two proceedings have also historically involved overlapping issues, including evidence concerning licensing for the interactive services at issue in this proceeding.”
The services also argued that public versions of the Web VI documents would not be enough. They said the redacted materials “may not reveal how the specific economic analyses presented may have influenced the Judges’ determination, or how—if at all—those analyses might impact this proceeding.”
Conditions Attached to the Order
Existing protective orders still apply to the platforms’ use of the documents. The order sets out three further conditions:
- Access “shall not be granted to any outside counsel (who were not counsel of record for a participant in Web VI) who are currently, and/or during the course of this proceeding, directly participating in license negotiations with sound recording companies outside the context of settlement of legal claims.”
- Non-“litigating participants” must request access to the unredacted documents. A notice will then be posted to the docket, and for the following 10 days the entities that provided the materials can “seek relief necessary to prevent any potential competitive harm.”
- The streaming services must follow AI-use terms for the materials, including ensuring that the settings of the relevant programs shield the sensitive information from third parties and from the developers themselves.
Status of Phono V
Phono V is now in full swing. Earlier this month, Spotify and others submitted detailed proposals. The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) quickly criticized the terms floated by Amazon Music as an attempt “to squeeze songwriters.”
