Spotify, Google Appeal Ruling That Boosted Songwriter Payments

Spotify Technology SA and other technology giants appealed a ruling that increased the royalties they must pay to songwriters, a move that threatens to further damage the companies’ already-tenuous relationship with the music industry.

Songwriters celebrated last year when the Copyright Royalty Board ruled that they will get at least a 15.1 percent share of streaming revenues over the next five years, a raise from the previous rate of 10.5 percent. The bump, which came in January 2018, was the biggest ever, the National Music Publishers Association said at the time.

But music-streaming services, most of which are either lose ...