We, the undersigned songwriters and allies, call for fair pay, transparency, and protections for the people behind the songs that power the global music industry.

Here are the facts:

• In 2024, the global recorded music industry earned $29.6 billion. Songwriters made that success possible, yet they are excluded from compensation for recorded music.
• In the United States, songwriters receive only about 15.25% of total streaming revenue, while record labels and streaming companies take 84.75%.
• In some cases, artists or their representatives receive publishing shares for songs they did not write, reducing royalties for the actual songwriters.
• Songwriters in the United States do not have a union to collectively bargain for fair pay, benefits, or working conditions because federal labor law classifies them as independent contractors, which legally prohibits them from unionizing under the National Labor Relations Act

We call on record labels to take action by implementing the following reforms:

• Non-recoupable per diems for songwriting sessions and label-organized camps
• Non-recoupable song fees for the first commercial use of a composition
• Points on the master for songwriters’ contributions to the recorded music industry

 Please sign and share this petition if you support fair pay for songwriters.