woot
Anyway, the artists are already (supposed to be) getting royalties via agencies like ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI. These royalties are for what's called the "musical work", i.e. the composition of the song. The copyrights on recordings are typically held by record companies, and this is what the current royalties are for. As I understand it these are also supposed to be split between record companies and artists, but from what I've heard record companies typically pull crap like making the artist pay back production/promotion costs with royalties, so it's not clear how much of that money artists are likely to actually see.
Anyway, the artists are already (supposed to be) getting royalties via agencies like ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI. These royalties are for what's called the "musical work", i.e. the composition of the song. The copyrights on recordings are typically held by record companies, and this is what the current royalties are for. As I understand it these are also supposed to be split between record companies and artists, but from what I've heard record companies typically pull crap like making the artist pay back production/promotion costs with royalties, so it's not clear how much of that money artists are likely to actually see.