STREAMING BUSINESS LIBRARY

DCMS Economics Of Streaming Inquiry

Tracking the DCMS select committee’s Economics Of Music Streaming Inquiry

In October 2020 the Digital Culture Media & Sport Select Committee in the UK Parliament announced an inquiry into the economics of music streaming.

You can follow CMU’s coverage of the inqury and related events – and access relevant resources from the CMU Library – via this CMU Timeline.

You can access official announcements from and evidence submitted to the inquiry – and recordings of oral hearings – on the committee’s website here.

DISSECTING THE DIGITAL DOLLAR

The Music Managers Forum in the UK and CMU Insights have been investigating and debating the economics of music streaming through the ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ project for the last five years. You can access some key outputs from that work here…

Dissecting The Digital Dollar: Executive Summary

Dissecting The Digital Dollar: The Book

Digital Dollar Guide: Deals Guide

Digital Dollar Guide: Transparency Guide

Digital Dollar Guide: Song Royalties Guide

FROM THE CMU LIBRARY

Useful guides from CMU:DIY and CMU Insights…

The CMU:DIY Guide Music Streaming Explained explains the deals streaming services do with the music industry and how streaming royalties are calculated each month.

The CMU:DIY Guide The Streaming Debate Explained reviews the big and ongoing debate around the economics of streaming, outlining issues that have been raised and solutions that have been proposed.

The Performer Payments From Streams guide from CMU Insights and the PayPerformers campaign explains which performers are paid when their work is streamed and how those payments are calculated.

Relevant editions of Setlist, the music business podcast from CMU…

The ten things people get wrong about streaming – Part One

The ten things people get wrong about streaming – Part Two

The things people still get wrong about streaming – dissecting the Economics Of Streaming report

CMU COVERAGE

Updates on the inquiry and its hearings from CMU – sign to the CMU Daily and Setlist podcast for all the latest news.

May 2020

• Musicians’ Union and Ivors Academy call for government intervention to “fix streaming”

October 2020

• Parliament’s culture select committee to investigate the economics of music streaming

• Setlist: Parliament probes the economics of streaming

• US musicians group calls for cent-per-stream payouts in Justice At Spotify campaign

November 2020

• Performer ER in the spotlight at first parliamentary hearing on the economics of music streaming

• Setlist: Artists tell MPs streaming is “threatening the future of music”

December 2020

• Culture select committee chair says he will name and shame anyone trying to stop artists from speaking out about streaming

• Performer ER certain to be debated once again at second parliamentary hearing on streaming

• Ivors Academy calls for regulation of major music firms and new data standards as Parliament again considers the economics of streaming

• Setlist: Review of the music business year 2021

January 2021

• Labels expected to argue against ER on streams at tomorrow’s select committee hearing

• BPI cautions against radically changing a streaming model that is “working well for so many”

• Major labels face tough questions and frank criticism at latest Parliamentary session on the economics of streaming

• Artist and songwriter groups respond to major label statements at select committee streaming inquiry

February 2021

• Indie labels in the spotlight as Parliament’s economics of streaming inquiry continues

• MU and Ivors say they are optimistic of “fairer deal” as Parliament’s streaming inquiry proceeds

• Safe harbour in the spotlight as tech platforms questioned as part of Parliament’s streaming inquiry

• Spotify, Apple and Amazon face MPs in Parliament’s ongoing inquiry into streaming

March 2021

• SoundCloud announces shift to user-centric royalty distribution for its 100,000 independent creators

• Setlist: The music business year so far

• Spotify formally enters the economics of streaming debate with new Loud & Clear website

• Major label dominance and making available back in the spotlight at final Parliamentary session on streaming

• Discovery Mode, ER and royalty distribution models in the spotlight as IMPALA publishes ten point plan to “make streaming work”

April 2021

• 156 artists call on UK government to add ER to streams and launch competition investigation into the majors

• Setlist: Artists call on Boris Johnson to fix streaming

June 2021

• The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison among 76 new artists joining call for ER on streams

• Artist and management community welcome Sony Music’s decision to pay royalties to artists on unrecouped pre-2000 record deals

• Kevin Brennan MP proposes “a new right to fair remuneration” from streaming for musicians in private members bill

• Setlist: Could this bold new law finally fix streaming?

July 2021

• AIM publishes insights on the artist growth model for streaming royalty distribution

• Setlist: Let’s fix streaming by taxing the superstars

• European performers back the UK artists calling for equitable remuneration on streams

• UK Parliament calls for “complete reset” of music streaming, including ER for performers and competition investigation into the majors

• DCMS Committee Economics Of Streaming Report: Lots of quotes

• Setlist: The things people still get wrong about streaming – dissecting the Economics Of Streaming report

• BMG welcomes Parliament’s streaming report: “The music industry desperately needs to modernise”

August 2021

• Four Tet and Domino in court over sales v licence digital royalties dispute

• CMU publishes new guide on performer payments from streaming

September 2021

• PayPerformers says the “contractual system” for sharing out streaming income isn’t working

• FAC and MMF publish white paper on Parliament’s big streaming report

• Government responds to Parliament’s economics of streaming report

• Responses to the UK government’s response to Parliament’s Economics Of Streaming Report

• MU and #brokenrecord welcome government’s economics of streaming response, but want more commitment on copyright reforms

• Merck Mercuriadis responds to NMPA chief and UK government on impact of majors on song royalties

• Intellectual Property Office publishes report on music-makers’ earnings

• Setlist: The government responds to Parliament’s streaming report

October 2021

• UK competition regulator announces market study into music streaming

• Artists and songwriter groups welcome Competition & Market Authority’s streaming market study

November 2021

• MPs again call for performer ER on streams as Universal boss’s £150 million pay packet is compared to songwriter earnings

• Four Tet hits out at Domino for removing his albums from streaming services as legal battle over digital royalties continues

• MMF and FAC criticise Domino over Four Tet dispute, call for an end to life of copyright record deals

• Kevin Brennan MP publishes copyright reforming bill he reckons will fix streaming

• Statements on Kevin Brennan’s copyright reforming bill

• Domino says it is “saddened” by its ongoing Four Tet dispute

• Former EMI boss says Kevin Brennan MP’s proposed copyright reforms will “obliterate” the label investment model

December 2021

• Kevin Brennan MP’s controversial music copyright proposals discussed in Parliament

• UK artist and songwriter groups welcome government commitment to music industry reform during Friday’s Brennan Bill debate

• Four Tet allowed to add new legal claims over album takedowns in Domino dispute

• Independent publishers say that re-slicing the digital pie is the “defining issue” of the moment

January 2022

• Universal boss Lucian Grainge talks charity, choice and change – but avoids #fixstreaming – in company wide memo

• UK competition regulator outlines scope of market study into music streaming

February 2022

• Tom Gray becomes Chair of the Ivors Academys

• Artists and managers welcome Warner’s commitment to pay royalties to unrecouped heritage artists

• Four Tet signs to Universal Music Publishing, Domino albums streaming again

March 2022

• ERA publishes positive stats galore about streaming, but says industry needs to be “bold” in responding to economics of streaming debate

• US recorded music market grew 23% in 2021

• Spotify’s $310 million FC Barcelona sponsorship deal confirmed – and it’s great news for artists, says Spotify

• UK record industry revenues grew 12.8% in 2021

• Belgian performer society welcomes proposed new digital remuneration right

• Global record industry revenues grew 18.5% to $25.9 billion in 2021

• Spotify paid $7 billion to the music industry last year – and other fun stat brags

April 2022

• Universal Music confirms it will start paying royalties to unrecouped heritage artists

May 2022

• MMF launches $ong Royalties Manifesto at The Great Escape

• French performer and label groups reach voluntary agreement regarding digital remuneration

• CISAC outlines ISWC advancements in latest annual report

• Sony Music expands commitment to pay through royalties to unrecouped heritage artists

• Setlist: Sony’s announcement on unrecouped heritage artists

June 2022

• Belgium introduces ER right on streams

• Domino Records settles Four Tet dispute, commits to pay 50% royalty on digital

• IMPALA calls for French style agreements on fair digital remuneration instead of ER

• Domino comments on Four Tet settlement, insists no precedent set

• Setlist: Does Four Tet’s streaming settlement set a precedent?

July 2022

• EU Commissioner says copyright directive implementation can include a new ER right for performers

• Warner Music signs up to SoundCloud’s user-centric initiative

• Setlist: Warner Music goes user-centric with SoundCloud

• CMA declines to recommend a full market investigation into music streaming

• Mixed response from music industry to CMA’s decision on streaming investigation

August 2022

• Setlist: Streaming market just fine, says UK competition regulator

• US Congress member discusses proposed ER right for artists on American streams

September 2022

• ECSA says new GEMA study puts spotlight back on digital pie debate

• GESAC streaming report puts spotlight on price point, algorithms and the digital pie

• PRS announces plans for new portal offering easy access to song rights data

October 2022

• IMPALA again confirms opposition to ER on streams, while calling for focus on music’s “investment stream”

November 2022

• Culture select committee outlines the agenda of its economics of music streaming update session

• Artist remuneration remains a key sticking point as MPs return to the economics of streaming debate

• Setlist: MPs ask for an update on the “complete reset of streaming”

• CMA concludes that competition issues are not creating challenges for music-makers in the streaming economy

December 2022

• Merck Mercuriadis criticises CMA for “passing the buck” on streaming market issues

January 2023

• Universal boss says streaming needs to shift to an “artist-centric” model

• MPs call for “more focus” on music-maker remuneration in Economics Of Music Streaming update

DISSECTING THE STREAMING INQUIRY

We have reviewed and dissected written submissions made to the inquiry, breaking everything down into the ten key topics and issues covered. You can check our overview of those topics here. Below we review in more detail what key submissions said about each of those issues.

#01: The big picture view
• Submission: CMU

#02: The artist / label split
• Submission: BPI
• Submission: IFPI
• Submission: MMF/FAC
• Submission: BMG

#03: The recording / song split
• Submission: IMRO
• Submission: IMPF
• Submission: BMG
• Submission: The Ivors Academy
• Submission: Hipgnosis Songs Fund

#04: Equitable remuneration
• Submission: #brokenrecord
• Submission: MU
• Submission: MMF/FAC

#05: User-centric royalty distribution
• Submission: Hipgnosis Songs Fund
• Submission: BMG
• Submission: MU
• Submission: Will Page
• Submission: AIM
• Submission: AIM supplementary
• Submission: ERA

#06: Transparency
• Submission: Ivors Academy
• Submission: ISM
• Submission: MU
• Submission: MMF/FAC

#07: Music rights data
• Submission: Ivors Academy
• Submission: YouTube

#08: Royalty chains
• Submission: MMF/FAC

#09: Safe harbour
• Submission: BPI
• Submission: IFPI
• Submission: AIM
• Submission: IMPF
• Submission: Ivors Academy
• Submission: YouTube
• Submission: Council Of Music Makers

#10: Curation and algorithms
• Submission: Beggars Group
• Submission: state51
• Submission: NMC
• Submission: BMG
• Submission: Ivors Academy

Last updated: January 2023