Spotify has been hit with another lawsuit for infringing the rights of songwriters and publishers. Wixen Music Publishing is seeking $ 1.6 billion in damages and is citing more than 10,000 songs in the lawsuit. That is approximately $ 150,000 in damages per song. The music streaming company was in the process of settling a class action lawsuit with songwriters this past December, which included Wixen. But Wixen objected to the terms stating that the $ 43 million settlement would only account for roughly $ 4 per song, greatly devaluing the work of songwriters.

Spotify has made a lot of money in the recent years, and now holds a major market share in the music industry. The company has profited greatly as more people move towards getting their music online rather than buying physical copies. And in recent years, Spotify has made numerous deals with record companies to resolve potential copyright liabilities. However, Wixen has stated that the company has failed to address the copyright claims of songwriters and publishers, who hold separate rights to the compositions of songs. The music industry changed drastically since the emergence of Napster, when music became available online. Now we have many music streaming services in the market, the biggest being Apple itunes and Spotify. However, with this lawsuit the music industry is sure to change again. Other music services like Spotify will have to make changes to their licensing practices to protect themselves from lawsuits like the ones Spotify is facing today.