Four out of five Grammy Songwriter of the Year nominees are boycotting Spotify's January 28 celebration party. Jessi Alexander, Amy Allen, Jessie Jo Dillon, and RAYE have declined to attend or perform at the event, primarily protesting Spotify's recent changes to songwriter royalty rates.

The boycott stems from Spotify's decision to reduce royalty rates on premium streams for songwriters and publishers. This reduction, implemented when Spotify reclassified its Premium subscriptions as "bundled" products due to the addition of audiobooks, is expected to decrease songwriter and publisher royalties by approximately $150 million over 12 months.

Jessie Jo Dillon, who wrote Morgan Wallen's "Lies Lies Lies," stated: "After some thought, I couldn't in good conscience support this initiative given their approach to bundling royalties. It is very nice to be individually honored, but it is better for me and my entire songwriter community to be paid fairly for our art."

The protest has gained support from other prominent songwriters. Ross Golan warned colleagues on Instagram against attending, while 2023 Grammy nominee Laura Veltz criticized Spotify's practices, calling them "robbery."

Edgar Barrera, the fifth nominee, has not yet commented on whether he will attend the event, which was established by Spotify in 2023 to celebrate nominees for the Recording Academy's new Songwriter of the Year award.

The controversy highlights growing tensions between music creators and streaming platforms over fair compensation, particularly as services expand beyond music into other forms of content while maintaining single-subscription models.

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