Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 16
16
The Government has repeatedly told us that it will not implement in UK law provisions...
Recommendation
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 the right direction in terms of protections and rights for rightsholders. The Government should ensure that creators in the UK are not worse served that they would have been had the UK remained in the European Union. As a minimum, the Government should introduce a right for performers (or their representatives) to have sight of the terms of deals where their works are licensed, on request and subject to non-disclosure. There should also be notification requirements, requiring relevant parties to provide clear information and guidance to creators about the terms and structures of every deal where creators’ works are licensed, sold or otherwise made available, and the means and methods by which monies that are being distributed to them are calculated, reported and transferred. (Paragraph 142) The music streaming market
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
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 this is an issue that the industry can, and should, seek to fix itself. To improve transparency for the benefit of musicians, the IPO will convene an industry- led technical working group, with the aim of agreeing standards for transparency in the industry. These discussions would draw on experiences of transparency standards in other countries, including those introduced in EU countries under the recent Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. These standards could then form part of a voluntary code of practice for the music sector. The technical working group will be expected to report on their progress after 6 months. If the Government considers that this process is not leading to a satisfactory outcome, it will consider whether legislative intervention is warranted. The Government will not be taking forward the recommendation that it should require all publishers and collecting societies to publish royalty chain information. This is because it questions whether this approach is feasible or practical: these parties are unlikely to have oversight of the entire chain, so will not be in a position to publish all of this information. Collective management organisations (CMOs) are already subject to certain transparency obligations under the Collective Management of Copyright (EU Directive) Regulations 6 Government and Competition and Markets Authority Responses 2016 (as amended following the UK’s exit from the EU), which require them to publish annual transparency reports including details of money received from, and paid to, other CMOs. The Government will consider whether there is scope to incorporate the Committee’s recommendation on global licensing deals into its work on international trade policy. Data