The digital download class-action settlements were a series of legal settlements by the world's three major record companies, between 2012 and 2015, which The Hollywood Reporter called an "important chapter in the legal history of the music business.
case that download sales should universally be treated contractually as "masters licensed" rather than "records sold."
Publicly disclosed terms of the settlement included a fund of $7.95 million to pay past claims and a 3 percent increase in artists’ royalty rates with respect to digital income.
[7] Others characterized the 3% as being a percentage of Sony's gross download receipts -- meaning a royalty rate of 7% would increase to just 7.21% (7% X 1.03), and an artist would receive just 3 percent more of the 70 cents Sony received for 99 cent downloads.
Universal agreed to pay $11.5 million, like Warner, and increase digital download royalties by 10%.