Select Committee · Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Economics of music streaming

Status: Closed Opened: 15 Oct 2020 Closed: 10 Nov 2021 21 recommendations 4 conclusions 1 report

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, Apple Music, Amazon Music and … Show more

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Second Report - Economics of music streaming HC 50 15 Jul 2021 25 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
9 Recommendation Second Report - Economics of music stre… Accepted in Part

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 work with industry to facilitate this. The Government should require … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government rejects requiring publishers and collecting societies to publish royalty chain information, arguing it is impractical. However, it will convene an industry-led technical working group to agree on transparency standards and will consider global licensing deals in future trade policy.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
15 Recommendation Second Report - Economics of music stre… Accepted in Part

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 to audit. Creators and their representatives have a right to … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government accepts the need for improved transparency and will convene an industry-led working group to agree on voluntary standards; however, it rejects the recommendation to require publishers and collecting societies to publish full royalty chain information due to feasibility concerns.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
16 Recommendation Second Report - Economics of music stre… Accepted in Part

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 the music industry’s problems, but it is a step in … Read more

Government response AI summary
The Government acknowledges the need for transparency, stating the IPO will convene an industry working group to agree on voluntary standards for transparency, deferring legislative intervention only if this process is unsatisfactory. It rejects requiring publishers and collecting societies to publish royalty chain information, citing …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
19 Recommendation Second Report - Economics of music stre… Accepted in Part

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 is already happening in some areas. It is important that … Read more

Government response AI summary
The Government launched its consultation on the new pro-competition regime in July 2021 and states it will legislate to put the Digital Markets Unit on a statutory footing as soon as Parliamentary time allows, fulfilling the intent but without a specific timeframe.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Oral evidence sessions

7 sessions
Date Witnesses
22 Mar 2021 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 View ↗
23 Feb 2021 Elena Segal · Apple Inc, Horacio Gutierrez · Spotify, Paul Firth · Amazon View ↗
10 Feb 2021 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 View ↗
4 Feb 2021 Paul Pacifico · Association of Independent Music, Rupert Skellett · Beggars Group, Yvette Griffith · Jazz Re:freshed View ↗
19 Jan 2021 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 View ↗
8 Dec 2020 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 View ↗
24 Nov 2020 Colin Young, Ed O'Brien, Guy Garvey, Nadine Shah, Tom Frederikse, Tom Gray · The Ivors Academy View ↗

Who gave evidence

34 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Amanda Solloway MP · Minister for Science, Research and Innovation Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 1
Andrea Martin · Chief Executive PRS for Music 1
Caroline Dinenage MP · Minister for Digital and Culture Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 1
Colin Young 1
David Joseph · Chairman and Chief Executive Universal Music UK & Ireland 1
Ed O'Brien 1
Elena Segal · Global Senior Director of Music Publishing Apple Inc 1
Fiona Bevan 1
Geoff Taylor · Chief Executive BPI 1
Graham Davies · Chief Executive Ivors Academy 1
Guy Garvey 1
Horace Trubridge · General Secretary Musicians’ Union 1
Horacio Gutierrez · Head of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer Spotify 1
Jason Iley · Chairman and Chief Executive Sony Music UK & Ireland 1
José Luis Sevillano · Director General Artistas Intérpretes o Ejecutantes, Entidad de Gestión de Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual (AIE) 1
Katherine Oyama · Director, Government Affairs & Public Policy YouTube 1
Kwame Kwaten · Vice Chair Music Managers Forum 1
Maria Forte · Managing Director Maria Forte Music Services Ltd 1
Nadine Shah 1
Nile Rodgers 1
Paul Firth · Director of International Music Amazon 1
Paul Pacifico · Chief Executive Association of Independent Music 1
Peter Leathem · Chief Executive Phonographic Performance Ltd 1
Raoul Chatterjee · Vice President for Content Partnerships Soundcloud 1
Robert Specterman-Green · Director, Media and Creative Industries Department for Culture, Media and Sport 1
Roberto Neri · Chair Music Publishers Association 1
Rupert Skellett · General Counsel Beggars Group 1
Soweto Kinch 1
Steve Bené · General Counsel Twitch 1
Tim Moss · Chief Executive Intellectual Property Office 1
Tom Frederikse 1
Tom Gray · Chair The Ivors Academy 1
Tony Harlow · Chief Executive Warner Music UK 1
Yvette Griffith · Co-Chief Executive and Executive Director Jazz Re:freshed 1

Correspondence

5 letters
DateDirectionTitle
14 Jun 2022 To cttee Letter from Julia Lopez MP, Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure…
22 Sep 2021 To cttee Letter from the Chair to Andrea Coscelli CBE, Chief Executive, CMA, relating to…
22 Sep 2021 Correspondence between the Government and the Competition and Markets Authority…
12 Jan 2021 Written evidence: BPI (EMS208)
24 Nov 2020 Background paper: Colin Young music streaming slides