Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Recommendation 20

Second Report - Economics of music streaming Published 15 Jul 2021 Paragraph 160 Addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government must ensure that the challenges posed by music streaming to the UK’s prominence regime are duly considered.

From: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Second Report - Economics of music streaming (HC 50), paragraph 160, 15 July 2021

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 22 September 2021 (deadline 15 September 2021).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government welcomes the Committee's report but says "more targeted research and evidence is needed" before it decides action on some issues, and sets out a work programme of contact and working groups and research, with a review in spring 2022.

  • On equitable remuneration and new creator rights, the Government says impacts are "difficult to predict" and will assess models, "including through potential legislation", with an update expected in spring 2022.
  • On transparency, the Government's view is that the industry "can, and should, seek to fix itself"; an industry-led working group is to report after 6 months, and it "will consider whether legislative intervention is warranted" if the outcome is unsatisfactory.
  • It will not take forward the recommendations on publishing royalty chain information or on black box revenues, giving feasibility and existing regulation as its reasons. It also "disagrees" with the recommendation on the Music Export Growth Scheme and a fiscal incentive.
  • On the market study, it notes the Committee's concerns and says it is "for the CMA to decide" how to use its resources, while having written to the CMA. It will legislate on the Digital Markets Unit "as soon as Parliamentary time allows".

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error