Published
Fri, Jan 22, 2021, 18:51
- It's part of a government inquiry into the economics of music streaming.
Industry players such as Beggars Group, Tru Thoughts, Ninja Tune and the BBC have raised serious issues about existing streaming models to the UK government.
In reports to Parliament that were published Thursday, they warned of unfair remuneration, a bias towards certain genres and monopolisation, among other concerns. These reports are part of an official government inquiry into the streaming business that launched last year.
"As is widely talked about, the revenue to be made from streaming is poor," record label Tru Thoughts said in its statement. "In a year that has seen Bandcamp waive their fees and people rush to support their local record shops, there are questions (particularly in the independent scene within which we operate) around how ethical the current models are given that streaming services still pay artists poorly and hold the power over release planning."
Broken Record, a campaign started by musician Tom Gray that has long focused on streaming royalties, echoed those sentiments. "Whenever a song is played in public, artists receive 'Equitable Remuneration,' yet this does not presently exist in UK streaming," the organisation wrote. It recommended amending legislation to ensure the right to equitable pay applies to radio, television and streaming.
Beggars Group, which represents imprints such as XL Recordings, Young Turks, and Rough Trade, had this to say on the topic: "The problem is that with streaming, the revenue flows in a trickle but over a longer period of time, in distinct contrast to the old world of sales, where the units were mainly shifted in the first few weeks from release, and hence the income was front loaded. The marketing and promotion costs remain the same however, so somehow labels and artists have to bridge that funding gap." Beggars said it supports "a fair minimum digital royalty rate for artists without the royalty deductions of the old sales-based world."
Adding to the discussion, BMG said the music industry should also address its own "outdated" practices. "A rule of thumb is that streaming services pay around two-thirds of their revenues to the music industry for the music rights they license; The problem for artists is that while the recording attracts the largest share (around 80%) of the music rights pot, a traditional record deal may offer them 20% or less of that share." A "realistic" way for artists to increase their streaming income "is for them to receive a higher share of the revenue generated by their recordings," BMG said. But such a proposal is likely to receive "significant push-back," it continued.
For more, read the reports on the UK Parliament website.