Key Facts

• The Bill seeks to address fair remuneration for musicians, songwriters, and composers.
• Streaming makes up more than 70% of UK recorded music revenues.
• One CEO is set to receive £153 million this year compared to total income of all songwriters and composers in the UK from streaming.
• The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee report titled “Economics of music streaming” was unanimously agreed.
• Sony agreed to pay unrecouped artists with pre-2000 contracts some money when their music is streamed; Warner and Universal have not followed suit.
• Spotify aims to replace radio as the main way people listen to music.
• The Bill addresses issues such as unrecouped artists like Dame Vera Lynn.
• It would require transparency from record labels regarding where and how music is being played.
• The Competition and Markets Authority will study potential market failure due to monopoly power and cross-ownership in the music industry.
• Streaming revenue grew by 20% in 2020 despite the pandemic.
• The Bill aims to adapt legal structures to ensure proper payment for artists, composers, and songwriters.
• Copyright ownership extends beyond 75 years after death for composers and 70 years after recording date for performers.
• The music industry contributes more than £5 billion in gross value added to the UK economy.
• More than 200 artists signed a letter supporting Kevin Brennan's proposals.
• Gary Barlow is one of the artists who supported the proposals.
• Government invested £2 billion in the cultural recovery fund during lockdowns.
• Streaming revenue to musicians increased by 46% between 2016 and 2019, compared to a 31% increase for record labels.
• About 40% of industry revenue goes into marketing and A&R activities.
• Independent labels hold 26% of the market share in music releases.
• The statement addresses the issue of artist contracts being exploitative due to inequality between artists and labels.
• Sony has initiated an initiative called Artists Forward that writes off unrecouped balances for artists signed before the year 2000.
• There is concern about digital service providers retaining significant revenue through safe harbour provisions.
• Revenue share for artists has increased according to John Whittingdale.
• The IPO report on earnings in the creative industries is referenced as a source of information.
• A market study by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is proposed.
• The MP signed record contracts with Chrysalis Records in 1987, which was later taken over by EMI.
• Despite selling 1.5 million records, he never earned a penny from recordings due to being unrecouped.
• Success as an artist typically requires achieving album sales of about 200,000 or 300,000 for royalties to start coming in.