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, citing Spotify's recent controversial changes to songwriter royalties.

The boycott stems from Spotify's decision to cut royalty rates on premium streams for songwriters and publishers in 2023. This reduction, triggered by Spotify reclassifying its Premium subscriptions as "bundled" products due to audiobook inclusion, is expected to decrease songwriter and publisher royalties by approximately $150 million over 12 months.

"After some thought, I couldn't in good conscience support this initiative given their approach to bundling royalties," Dillon explained. "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 songwriter community has rallied behind the boycott, with notable figures speaking out. Songwriter Ross Golan urged colleagues on Instagram: "If you are a songwriter, you cannot go to this. Do not let Spotify f*ck you on bundling and then give you free booze." Similarly, 2023 Grammy nominee Laura Veltz warned, "Spotify is robbing you. Songwriters: do not fall for this horse shit."

The fifth nominee, Edgar Barrera, has not yet commented on whether he will attend the event, which was established by Spotify in 2023 to celebrate the newly created Grammy award category.

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