NMPA files FTC complaint against Spotify, Rolling Stone reports

The National Music Publishers Association has filed a an FTC complaint against Spotify over the company’s audiobook bundle offering, arguing that the premium subscription tier bundle is “a scheme to increase profits by deceiving consumers and cheating the music royalty system,” Rolling Stone’s Ethan Millman reports. The trade group’s complaint comes months after Spotify started paying lower mechanical royalties to songwriters as part of its audiobooks bundle. NMPA CEO David Israelite revealed the FTC complaint during his speech for the trade group’s annual meeting in New York, saying “Spotify has declared war on songwriters” and that “Our response shall be all-encompassing.”