Rule Of Thumb: Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and other groups are applauding today's (7/9) move by the U.S. Copyright Office to finalize a rule whereby songwriters who invoke termination rights to regain control of their previously sold copyrighted music will be paid streaming royalties instead of that money flowing to their former publishers. The rule change, which has been hailed as a victory for songwriters, reverses an earlier Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) policy. In a statement, NSAI says the rule change "confirms the MLC's practice of paying the copyright owner of record at time of payment in most instances, which will ensure more dollars go to songwriters in the most efficient fashion." Read the new rule in the Federal Register here.