Received from: MU
As a result of the “Keep Music Alive” campaign and pressure from the MU, the DCMS Select Committee recently conducted an inquiry into streaming.
After many years of arguing that streaming is hugely unfair to musicians and performers, the committee’s conclusion that music streaming needs a ‘complete reset’, so that artists, performers and songwriters who currently receive “pitiful returns” are fairly rewarded, was very welcome.
Most musicians earn a very low royalty on streaming due to their contract with their record label, and session musicians earn nothing at all. If streaming was dealt with as radio is, the majority of musicians would earn more from it. Streaming services are, essentially, a sophisticated version of radio. Consumers using Spotify to stream a track do not feel they are purchasing the music they listen to in the way they do when downloading from iTunes.
Congress calls on the General Council to support the committee’s recommendations for:
i. government to legislate so that performers enjoy the right to equitable remuneration for streaming income
ii. government to refer cases to the Competition and Markets Authority to undertake a full market study into the economic impact of the major music groups’ dominance.
Musicians’ Union