Multiple US-based publishers are reporting a significant 30-40% drop in Spotify mechanical royalties for January 2025, specifically affecting payments for October 2024 streams. This decline appears to be Spotify-specific and isn't occurring on other streaming platforms.

Key findings:

• The decrease affects US-based mechanical publishing royalties exclusively
• Performance royalties showed an unexpected increase during the same period
• The decline is uniform across artists, genres, and regions
• Changes are not linked to usage drops or special calculation adjustments
• Royalties are processed through the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC)

This development coincides with Spotify's recent shift toward bundled subscription options, with non-bundled, music-only subscriptions now representing less than 1% of US-based subscriptions. Publishers and songwriters typically receive lower mechanical royalties from bundled plans.

Spotify has been contacted regarding these changes but has not yet issued an official statement. The cause of these royalty shifts remains unclear and could potentially be due to:

• Accounting errors
• Methodology changes
• System adjustments

The situation continues to develop, and publishers are awaiting clarification from Spotify regarding these significant royalty changes.

For additional context:

• Payments discussed are for October 2024 streams
• Payouts occurred in January 2025
• The issue appears isolated to Spotify's platform
• Both streaming counts and aggregate amounts showed substantial decreases

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