Federal regulators at the Copyright Royalty Board have settled on the mechanical royalty figures that will apply to physical music sales and permanent downloads throughout 2026, pegging the rate at 13.1 cents per song and 2.52 cents per minute for tracks running longer than five minutes. Songwriters and publishers have a direct stake in the decision, since it establishes exactly how much royalty is owed on every CD, vinyl record, and permanent paid download sold as the current five-year rate cycle nears its end.
The Last Two Years Of Phonorecords IV Are Now Set
This freshly set rate covers both 2026 and 2027, marking the closing chapter of the 2023-to-2027 cycle referred to as Phonorecords IV, or CRB IV. With this decision, the Board has now finished setting rates for the entire five-year term, wrapping up the schedule governing physical phonorecords and permanent downloads under the existing framework.
The formula itself is precise: whether it’s a physical phonorecord or a permanently purchased download, the mechanical royalty comes to 13.1 cents per song, or 2.52 cents for every minute on tracks exceeding five minutes in length. This figure covers physical formats like CDs and vinyl records as well as permanent downloads, though it has no bearing on streaming royalties.
Streaming Royalties Fall Under A Different Set Of Rules
This particular CRB decision on mechanical royalties for physical formats leaves streaming untouched, as streaming operates under its own separate rate schedule entirely. That separation carries real weight, given that streaming royalties follow their own distinct rate-setting track and their own phased timeline across that same 2023-2027 window.
Broadly speaking, music creators are dealing with two connected yet distinct royalty tracks within the CRB system, one dedicated to streaming and the other to physical phonorecords and downloads. This particular update centers on the latter track, and the newly released 2026-2027 numbers wrap up that piece of work for the current five-year term.
Yearly Increases Keep Climbing Through The Term
This 2026 figure represents the next step in the annual climb baked into the current CRB rate term. Compared with 2025’s rates of 12.7 cents per song and 2.45 cents per minute, the new numbers are higher, illustrating how inflation-linked adjustments are built directly into the schedule.
This is all part of a steady, five-year climb, with the numbers ticking upward annually across the whole Phonorecords IV span. When the Board first announced rates for physical phonorecords and permanent downloads, 2023 opened at 12 cents per track, or 2.31 cents per minute, before climbing steadily through subsequent years via inflation-tied increases. The 13.1-cent figure for 2026 slots neatly into that incremental progression.
How The New Rate Affects Companies That License Physical And Download Rights
In practice, this decision lands squarely on the companies licensing and selling physical product or permanent downloads — record labels, distributors, digital download platforms, and any other business making those kinds of sales. Each of those licensees is on the hook to pay the government-set mechanical rate to the songwriters and publishers who are owed it.
Nothing here points to any lawsuit or enforcement fight connected to the decision. Rather, this is simply an administrative rate-setting action by the Board, establishing the royalty figures that apply for these particular years.
The Existing Rate Schedule Now Extends Through 2027
Now that the 2026 figure is finalized, the statutory framework governing physical sales and permanent downloads is locked in all the way through the close of 2027. These two years, 2026 and 2027, represent the term’s final stretch, bringing the five-year Phonorecords IV rate-setting effort to completion.
Songwriters, publishers, and businesses dealing in physical product or permanent downloads should note that 13.1 cents per track — or 2.52 cents per minute on longer songs — is the number that governs 2026. That same framework carries into the term’s last year as well, while streaming royalties keep running on their own, separate CRB track.
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