SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Copyright Royalty Board on Thursday left unchanged the amount record companies will pay songwriters for the sale of CDs or digitally downloaded songs. The three-judge panel said the record companies will continue to pay 9.1 cents a song, while the National Music Publishers Association had sought an increase to 15 cents a song. Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.75% and other online music stores had opposed the potential price increase. Additionally the CRB set a payment rate of 24 cents each for songs sold as ringtones for cellphones.