WILL VENUES SING THE SONGWRITER BLUES?

For bands like U2, which perform mostly their own songs, money would shift from promoters to them. (Getty Images)

Songwriters, as repped by one of the primary performance rights organizations, are seeking a sixfold increase in the royalty rate for the performances of their songs at venues. In a business with profit margins both wide and small, this litigation if successful could radically change the live business model as we know it and transfer hundreds of millions of dollars from venu...