Economics of music streaming

Culture, Media and Sport Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 15 Oct 2020 Closed: 10 Nov 2021 Parliament page
MPs will examine what economic impact music streaming is having on artists, record labels and the sustainability of the wider music industry. With streaming currently accounting for more than half of the global music industry’s revenue, this inquiry will look at the business models operated by platforms such as Spotify, … Read more
17 Recommendations
8 Conclusions
1 Report
7 Oral sessions
5 Letters
7 Events
Activity timeline 21 events
14 Jun
2022
Correspondence
22 Sep
2021
Report published
22 Sep
2021
Correspondence
22 Sep
2021
Correspondence
15 Jul
2021
Report published
22 Mar
2021
Oral evidence
22 Mar
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Virtual meeting
23 Feb
2021
Oral evidence
23 Feb
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
10 Feb
2021
Oral evidence
10 Feb
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 5, Palace of Westminster
4 Feb
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 7 sessions
22 Mar 2021
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Amanda Solloway MP · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Caroline Dinenage MP · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Robert Specterman-Green · Department for Culture, Media and Sport Tim Moss · Intellectual Property Office
23 Feb 2021
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Elena Segal · Apple Inc Horacio Gutierrez · Spotify Paul Firth · Amazon
10 Feb 2021
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Geoff Taylor · BPI Graham Davies · Ivors Academy Horace Trubridge · Musicians’ Union Katherine Oyama · YouTube Raoul Chatterjee · Soundcloud Roberto Neri · Music Publishers Association Steve Bené · Twitch
4 Feb 2021
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Paul Pacifico · Association of Independent Music Rupert Skellett · Beggars Group Yvette Griffith · Jazz Re:freshed
19 Jan 2021
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Andrea Martin · PRS for Music David Joseph · Universal Music UK & Ireland Jason Iley · Sony Music UK & Ireland Peter Leathem · Phonographic Performance Ltd Tony Harlow · Warner Music UK
8 Dec 2020
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Fiona Bevan José Luis Sevillano · Artistas Intérpretes o Ejecutantes, Entidad de Gestión de Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual (AIE) Kwame Kwaten · Music Managers Forum Maria Forte · Maria Forte Music Services Ltd Nile Rodgers Soweto Kinch
24 Nov 2020
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Colin Young Ed O'Brien Guy Garvey Nadine Shah Tom Frederikse Tom Gray · The Ivors Academy
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Second Report - Economics of music streaming HC 50 15 Jul 2021 25 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
25 results
1 Conclusion
Second Report - Economics of music…
Streaming has undoubtedly helped save the music industry following two decades of digital piracy but...
Streaming has undoubtedly helped save the music industry following two decades of digital piracy but it is clear that what has been saved does not work for everyone. The issues ostensibly created by streaming simply reflect more fundamental, structural problems … Read more
Government Response
The publication of the Committee’s report is a key moment for the music industry. The Government welcomes it and thanks the Committee, and all those who contributed to its inquiry, … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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2 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
We urge Universal and Warner to look again at the issue of unrecouped balances with...
We urge Universal and Warner to look again at the issue of unrecouped balances with a view to enabling more of their legacy artists to receive payments when their music is streamed.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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3 Conclusion
Second Report - Economics of music…
The pitiful returns from music streaming impact the entire creative ecosystem.
The pitiful returns from music streaming impact the entire creative ecosystem. Successful, critically acclaimed professional performers are seeing meagre returns from the dominant mode of music consumption. Non-featured performers are frozen out altogether, impacting what should be a viable career … Read more
Government Response
The publication of the Committee’s report is a key moment for the music industry. The Government welcomes it and thanks the Committee, and all those who contributed to its inquiry, … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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4 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
The major music companies and independent record labels have consistently asserted that music streaming is...
The major music companies and independent record labels have consistently asserted that music streaming is straightforwardly ‘making available’, and therefore performers should be remunerated as though it was a sale. However, this classification does not consider the complexities of streaming … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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5 Conclusion
Second Report - Economics of music…
The right to equitable remuneration is a simple yet effective solution to the problems caused...
The right to equitable remuneration is a simple yet effective solution to the problems caused by poor remuneration from music streaming. It is a right that is already established within UK law and has been applied to streaming elsewhere in … Read more
Government Response
The Government notes the evidence presented to the Committee that the contractual arrangements between performers, labels and platforms appear to disadvantage some players in the streaming environment. This is corroborated … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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6 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
We recommend that the Government legislate so that performers enjoy the right to equitable remuneration...
We recommend that the Government legislate so that performers enjoy the right to equitable remuneration for streaming income. Amending the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 so that the making available right does not preclude the right to equitable remuneration, … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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7 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
Despite being an important part in the music creation and music streaming process, song rightsholders...
Despite being an important part in the music creation and music streaming process, song rightsholders are not effectively remunerated for their work. The Government should work with creators and the independent publishing sector to explore ways in which new and … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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8 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
Metadata issues compound the poor terms on which creators are remunerated.
Metadata issues compound the poor terms on which creators are remunerated. Whilst there is a significant challenge, it is not insurmountable. First, the Government must oblige record labels to provide metadata for the underlying song when they license a recording … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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9 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
The licensing and royalty chains of song rights causes considerable confusion and complexity to the...
The licensing and royalty chains of song rights causes considerable confusion and complexity to the system, and songwriters and composers pay the price. There is no single solution to create more efficient and timely royalty chains but the Government can … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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10 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
There is no doubt that the major music groups currently dominate the music industry, both...
There is no doubt that the major music groups currently dominate the music industry, both in terms of overall market share in recording and (to a lesser extent) in publishing, but also through vertical integration, their acquisition of competing services … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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11 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
The Government must make sure that UK law is not enabling the outcome of market...
The Government must make sure that UK law is not enabling the outcome of market dominance. This means that independent labels must be supported to challenge the majors’ dominance and creators must be empowered to offset the disparity in negotiating … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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12 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
We recommend that the Government concurrently expand creator rights by introducing a right to recapture...
We recommend that the Government concurrently expand creator rights by introducing a right to recapture works and a right to contract adjustment where an artist’s royalties are disproportionately low compared to the success of their music into the Copyright, Designs … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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13 Conclusion
Second Report - Economics of music…
Despite the general consensus that direct licensing between the record industry and streaming services is...
Despite the general consensus that direct licensing between the record industry and streaming services is positive, there are ongoing concerns about the majors’ 106 Economics of music streaming position in negotiation, which allows them to benefit at the expense of … Read more
Government Response
The Government believes that transparency and fairness in the global streaming environment are important and is very aware of the pressures on music creators. The Government notes the DCMS Select … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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14 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
As long as the major record labels also dominate the market for song rights through...
As long as the major record labels also dominate the market for song rights through their publishing operations, it is hard to see whether the song will be valued fairly as a result. It is well-evidenced that redressing the disparities … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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15 Conclusion
Second Report - Economics of music…
Artists and their representatives face a systemic lack of transparency from both music companies and...
Artists and their representatives face a systemic lack of transparency from both music companies and the streaming services that license their works. This exacerbates the inequities of creator remuneration by creating information asymmetries and preventing them from undertaking their right … Read more
Government Response
The Government recognises that transparency in the streaming sector is an issue and that action in this area could be of significant benefit to musicians. The Government’s view is that … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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16 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
The Government has repeatedly told us that it will not implement in UK law provisions...
The Government has repeatedly told us that it will not implement in UK law provisions akin to those established by the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. We accept that the Directive is not a silver bullet to … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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17 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
Music curators play an important role in the discovery and consumption of digital music and...
Music curators play an important role in the discovery and consumption of digital music and are influential in how creators are remunerated. It is, therefore, unsurprising that music creators are putting more resources into catching the eye of these curators. … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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18 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
Algorithms are fundamental to the operation of streaming services.
Algorithms are fundamental to the operation of streaming services. However, many questions remain about how they influence music consumption and how much oversight exists. The Government should commission research into the impact of streaming services’ algorithms on music consumption, including … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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19 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
The market for streaming services itself is fiercely competitive.
The market for streaming services itself is fiercely competitive. However, there is the potential that companies may leverage other aspects of their business or elsewise use vertical integrations to gain a competitive advantage; indeed, some jurisdictions have considered that this … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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20 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
The Government must ensure that the challenges posed by music streaming to the UK’s prominence...
The Government must ensure that the challenges posed by music streaming to the UK’s prominence regime are duly considered.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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21 Conclusion
Second Report - Economics of music…
Safe harbour provisions that have been transposed into UK law have profoundly impacted the market...
Safe harbour provisions that have been transposed into UK law have profoundly impacted the market for digital music consumption. YouTube’s dominance of the music streaming market shows that the market has tipped. Safe harbour gives services that host user-generated content … Read more
Government Response
The Government agrees that rightsholders should be properly remunerated when their works are used and shared online, for example on user-generated content platforms like YouTube. It also recognises that many … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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22 Conclusion
Second Report - Economics of music…
We note that the CMA has developed a pro-competition framework for tech companies with ‘strategic...
We note that the CMA has developed a pro-competition framework for tech companies with ‘strategic market status’ that dominate digital markets. The CMA should consider exploring designating YouTube’s streaming services as having strategic market status to encourage competition with its … Read more
Government Response
The CMA notes the Committee’s recommendation to the government regarding a market study examining the dominance of the major music groups. The CMA is liaising with relevant Departments on this … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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23 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
As we have acknowledged, the Government has repeatedly told us that it will not implement...
As we have acknowledged, the Government has repeatedly told us that it will not implement the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. However, to ensure that music creators and companies prosper in the globally important UK music market, … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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24 Conclusion
Second Report - Economics of music…
The debate between the predominant pro-rata payment model and alternative methodologies such as user-centric has...
The debate between the predominant pro-rata payment model and alternative methodologies such as user-centric has been compelling. It is positive that new services are inventing new and creative ways to address creators’ and consumers’ concerns about the fairness and transparency … Read more
Government Response
The Government believes that transparency and fairness in the global streaming environment are important and is very aware of the pressures on music creators. The Government notes the DCMS Select … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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25 Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music…
As technology continues to evolve, the Government must ensure that copyright law is fit for...
As technology continues to evolve, the Government must ensure that copyright law is fit for purpose and that appropriate mechanisms are in place for rightsholders to enforce their rights. The Intellectual Property Office must not be a passive witness but … Read more
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Correspondence 5 letters
14 Jun 2022 To committee Letter from Julia Lopez MP, Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, and George Freeman MP, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, relating to music streaming, 18 May 2022
Parliament page
22 Sep 2021 To committee Letter from the Chair to Andrea Coscelli CBE, Chief Executive, CMA, relating to music streaming, 22 September 2021
Parliament page
22 Sep 2021 Correspondence between the Government and the Competition and Markets Authority, relating to music streaming, 15-20 September 2021
Parliament page
12 Jan 2021 Written evidence: BPI (EMS208)
Parliament page
24 Nov 2020 Background paper: Colin Young music streaming slides
Parliament page