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
21 Recommendations
4 Conclusions
1 Report
7 Oral sessions
5 Letters
7 Events
Activity timeline 14 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
23 Feb
2021
Oral evidence
10 Feb
2021
Oral evidence
4 Feb
2021
Oral evidence
19 Jan
2021
Oral evidence
12 Jan
2021
Correspondence
8 Dec
2020
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
5 results
Clear
1 Conclusion Acknowledged
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 government welcomes the report, acknowledges that many creators are calling for reforms and that the streaming environment is complex, but states more targeted research is needed before deciding on specific actions.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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2 Recommendation Acknowledged
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.
Government Response
The government acknowledges the issue of unrecouped balances and is launching work to better understand fairness in creator remuneration, assessing different models as part of its wider review.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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7 Recommendation Acknowledged
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
Government Response
The government agrees on the importance of song rightsholders and commits to bringing together industry representatives to discuss supporting songwriters and composers, to inform any future action.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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13 Conclusion Acknowledged
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 acknowledges concerns about the dominance of major music groups and has written to the CMA about the committee's observation, but states that it is for the independent CMA to decide how best to use its resources for a market study.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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21 Conclusion Acknowledged
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 acknowledges that rightsholders should be properly remunerated and recognizes the difficulties faced, but states that licensing negotiations are private commercial matters and it has no intention of implementing the Copyright Directive. It notes the IPO has identified improvements to access to justice guidance and will consider KYBC obligations in an upcoming IP Crime Strategy.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Government Response AI assessment · 25 of 21 classified
Accepted 3
Accepted in Part 4
Acknowledged 5
Deferred 9
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 3
Total 21 recs + 4 conclusions
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