Songwriters to Protest Spotify at Los Angeles Demonstration Feb. 28, Citing Royalties and Joe Rogan Controversy

variety.com:

Sasha Urban editorIn the wake of ebbing controversy against Spotify’s partnership with podcaster Joe Rogan, Grammy-winning songwriter Tiffany Red and the advocacy group the 100 Percenters are planning a peaceful protest against the music streaming service on Feb.

28. The 100 Percenters were founded by Red in 2020 to advocate for more equitable payments for songwriters. The location of the protest and other details will be announced in the coming days.“Spotify was built on the backs of the music creators, yet we have the smallest piece of the pie,” Red said in a statement announcing the protest. “Songwriters and producers deserve to make a living wage, but instead, the [digital service providers] and record labels are making billions while we make peanuts.

Enough is enough; our voices will be heard.” Spotify and other streaming services have taken legal action to protest a 44% increase in royalties paid to songwriters that was decreed by the Copyright Royalty Board, which determines streaming rates every five years.Artists including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have pulled their music off Spotify over the last few weeks in response to the platform’s handling of coronavirus misinformation on Rogan’s podcast.

Spotify removed 70 pre-COVID episodes of the podcast after India Arie pulled her catalog in response to Rogan’s use of the N-word.“Neil Young opened a door that I must walk through,” Arie wrote in an Instagram post on Jan.