Recommendations & Conclusions
9 items
3
Conclusion
Second Report - Economics of music stre…
Deferred
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 in its own right, as well as a critical pipeline …
Read more
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 in its own right, as well as a critical pipeline for new talent. Those that provide specialist support for creators, either based on commission or working as salaried staff as part of an artist’s business or technical expertise, are also affected, meaning that fewer jobs will be sustained by an otherwise growing sector.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The Government welcomes the report and acknowledges the impact of poor remuneration on creators. It states that more targeted research and evidence are needed to fully understand the problems and potential solutions before it can decide on action.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
4
Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music stre…
Deferred
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 that sets it apart from other modes of consumption. For …
Read more
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 that sets it apart from other modes of consumption. For example, it also has the characteristics of a rental and a broadcast, which are consumed by exploiting copyright controls that provide performers with a statutory right to equitable remuneration. Furthermore, this classification creates inconsistencies in comparison to the song rights. Finally, precluding the making available right from equitable remuneration does not capture the realities of costs associated with the distribution of digital music. We recommend that the Government addresses these inconsistencies and incongruities by exploring ways to provide performers with a right to equitable remuneration when music is consumed by digital means.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The Government notes the complexity and potential negative impacts of equitable remuneration, stating it will launch work to better understand issues of fairness in creator and performer remuneration and assess different models before deciding on action.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
5
Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music stre…
Deferred
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 the world. A clear solution would therefore be to apply …
Read more
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 the world. A clear solution would therefore be to apply the right to equitable remuneration to the making available right in a similar way to the rental right. As such, an additive ‘digital music remuneration’ payment would be made to performers through their collecting societies when their music is streamed or downloaded. This digital music remuneration would address the issues of long-term sustainability for professional performers and the cannibalisation of other forms of music consumption where equitable remuneration applies, whilst also retaining the benefits of direct licensing. (Paragraph 76) 104 Economics of music streaming
Show less
Government response AI summary
The Government notes the complexity and potential negative impacts of equitable remuneration, stating it will launch work to better understand issues of fairness in creator and performer remuneration and assess different models before deciding on action.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
6
Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music stre…
Deferred
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, using the precedent set by the co-existence of the rental …
Read more
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, using the precedent set by the co-existence of the rental right and right to equitable remuneration in UK law, would be an effective solution. This would be relatively simple to enact and would appropriately reflect the diminished (and increasingly externalised) marginal costs of production and distribution associated with digital consumption. Furthermore, were the Government to do this by echoing existing UK law, this remuneration right would apply to the rightsholders (i.e. the record labels) rather than the streaming services.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government defers action on legislating for equitable remuneration, stating it is a complex area requiring further work to better understand impacts and assess different models, with an update expected in spring 2022.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
10
Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music stre…
Deferred
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 and the system of cross-ownership. We recommend that the Government …
Read more
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 and the system of cross-ownership. We recommend that the Government refer a case to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), to undertake a full market study into the economic impact of the majors’ dominance (see paragraphs 129, 134 and 183 for further recommendations). The Government must also provide the CMA with the resources and staffing to undertake this case to ensure that it can dedicate the necessary resources to this work whilst not impacting the pre-existing work it is currently undertaking.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges concerns about market dominance but states the CMA is an independent regulator and it is for them to decide on a market study, though they have written to the CMA on the recommendation, without committing to making the referral itself.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
12
Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music stre…
Deferred
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 and Patents Act 1988. These rights already exist elsewhere, such …
Read more
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 and Patents Act 1988. These rights already exist elsewhere, such as in the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, and would give creators greater leverage when negotiation contracts with music companies. We suggest that the right to recapture should occur after a period of twenty years, which is longer than the periods where many labels write off bad debt but short enough to occur within an artist’s career. This would create a more dynamic market for rights and allow successful artists to go to the market to negotiate better terms for their rights. The right to contract readjustment should similarly be implemented as soon as practically possible to ensure that rights for UK creators do not fall behind rights for European creators.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The Government will commission research into the impacts of introducing rights to recapture works and contract adjustment, which will inform whether and how to implement them, with an update expected in spring 2022.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
17
Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music stre…
Deferred
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. Where curators are paid or receive benefits in kind for …
Read more
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. Where curators are paid or receive benefits in kind for playlisting, Economics of music streaming 107 we recommend that they are subject to a code of practice developed by the Advertising Standards Authority, similar to social media influencers, to ensure that the decisions they make are transparent and ethical.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The Government agrees with the recommendation in principle but notes the complexities involved and states it will gather further evidence and carefully consider the case for intervention before proceeding with a code of practice.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
22
Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music stre…
Deferred
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 products.
Read more
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 products.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The CMA notes the recommendation to designate YouTube with Strategic Market Status, but states that the relevant pro-competition regime is still under consultation and the independent Digital Markets Unit will determine which assessments to undertake in the future.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
24
Recommendation
Second Report - Economics of music stre…
Deferred
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 of creator remuneration from streaming. We are concerned, however, that …
Read more
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 of creator remuneration from streaming. We are concerned, however, that current contractual agreements between the major music companies and streaming services have the potential to stifle further innovation if they are misused. The CMA should consider in its case (recommended in paragraph 111) whether these agreements have the potential to (or indeed have already) prevented experimentation and innovation by streaming services.
Show less
Government response AI summary
The government notes concerns about potential market dominance and stifled innovation, but defers the decision to the independent CMA on whether to undertake a market study or specific investigation, stating it has written to the CMA regarding the recommendation.
Read full response →
Department for Culture, Media and Sport