Washington, DC — The rate that digital retailers like Apple’s iTunes must pay songwriters and music publishers will stay the same under a new decision handed down by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which rejected the publishers’ petition for a 66% rate hike. The decision to freeze royalty rates at $0.09 a song came after revelations this week that Apple had threatened to shutter its iTunes store last year if rates rose and the business became unprofitable. The CRB also established for the first time a rate of $0.24 cents for each ringtone, and gave publishers the right to seek a 1.5% late fee, calculated monthly. “These events will bring clarity and order to an environment that for the past decade has been hampered by litigation and uncertainty on all sides,” said David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA). “During this challenging time for the music industry and digital stores and services, we are pleased with the CRB’s decision to keep royalty rates stable for the next five years,” said Jonathan Potter, executive director of the Digital Media Association (DiMA), which represents digital music retailers like Apple, Amazon and Best Buy.

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