A National Music Publishers’ Association graphic comparing Spotify head Daniel Ek’s 2024 stock sales with the streaming platform’s songwriter royalties in the U.S. during the year. Photo Credit: NMPA
Who said the Spotify bundling criticism was letting up? The NMPA is calling out CEO Daniel Ek for allegedly selling more company stock in 2024 than his platform paid all U.S. songwriters in royalties for the year.
National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) head David Israelite just recently emphasized the stat, “one of the craziest” he’s seen, in a LinkedIn post. By now, many are aware of Spotify’s audiobook-bundling embrace, which, we’ve explored at length, is fueling significant royalty effects in the music world.
And to put it mildly, the situation isn’t sitting right with songwriters and publishers; the majors’ respective publishing arms haven’t hesitated to opt for direct deals. It’s unclear whether smaller players can go the same route, and questions also remain about how the fiasco will affect Spotify’s plans for new features.
Closer to the present, the NMPA and others certainly aren’t through with their royalty-related criticism of Spotify.
“This is one of the craziest stats I have ever seen in the music industry,” David Israelite wrote. “In 2024, it’s reported Daniel Ek cashed out $376m in stock. In that same period, it’s estimated ALL songwriters in the US received $320m from Spotify.
“The system is broken. Songwriters and publishers need the freedom to negotiate rates in a free market,” the NMPA CEO concluded.
We covered Ek’s Spotify stock sales (as well as those of different execs and insiders) when they were recorded last year. Meanwhile, the 42-year-old has continued cashing in on SPOT during 2025.
All told, since February 2024, Ek has sold just shy of $560 million in company stock, regulatory filings show. That sizable sum includes almost $127 million worth of trades reported during February and March 2025 alone.
Returning to the NMPA-stressed stats, the latest round of public pushback attests to the multifaceted opposition Spotify is still staring down here.
First, this refers to the above-highlighted licensing hurdles. Last month, the NMPA not-so-subtly underscored that Spotify would have to secure additional licenses for its anticipated remix and mashup offerings; the latter are expected to be part of a more expensive “Super-Premium” tier.
The NMPA is simultaneously cracking down on alleged infringement in Spotify-hosted podcasts.
Lastly, regarding the ongoing bundling fallout, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) promptly challenged Spotify’s underlying subscription reclassifications in court. Though the development’s received minimal industry coverage, earlier in March, a federal judge revived components of the previously dismissed suit.
Now, the MLC has until April 1st to seek leave to submit a retooled action. The amended complaint, the judge said in more words, must focus on claims that Spotify didn’t properly pay royalties on its audiobook plan and attached an inflated price to the standalone audiobook tier, thereby enjoying bolstered savings under the relevant royalty-calculation model.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.