The government has published a statement on the outcomes of the Creator Remuneration Working Group which has been meeting since April 2024. This is a response to that statement from the Council Of Music Makers, which brings together the Ivors Academy, the Featured Artists Coalition, the Musicians’ Union, the Music Producers Guild and the Music Managers Forum.
We greatly appreciate the efforts of the government in seeking to improve the streaming economy for music-makers through the Creator Remuneration Working Group process.
We will ensure our members are fully aware of the label-led initiatives to come out of this process and very much welcome the new commitment by labels to pay per diems to songwriters, ensuring songwriters are not left out of pocket. The major labels have confirmed they will not pass the cost of these per diems onto featured artists and it is vital this principle is adopted across the industry.
Minister Chris Bryant has dedicated a great deal of time and resources trying to agree creator-friendly terms with the BPI and major labels, in an attempt to address unfair remuneration.
Over the next year, we will support music-makers to test these initiatives and whether they can deliver meaningful change. The major labels have made bold estimates about the value and impact of these initiatives – but we are not convinced they can be substantiated.
Nevertheless, we will work in good faith with the government to measure the actual impact of these provisions over the course of the next twelve months. We will need the support and engagement of our members as we seek to do this, and will communicate with members of the five CMM organisations on how they can help.
However, to be clear, much more still needs to be done. In 2021 Parliament’s Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee raised several fundamental issues regarding the streaming business model, calling for “a complete reset”. These issues remain largely unresolved, as major labels say they will not address systemic inequities in the way streaming works voluntarily.
This means our copyright law is currently failing to empower and protect the UK’s human creators because of the inequitable policies of major rightsholders.
The Council Of Music Makers remains committed to reaching a fairer settlement for all music makers, and we will now collectively pursue other legislative measures to achieve positive change for those that create the work our industry is built on.
NEXT STEPS
- The CMM has published guidance for music-makers on how to renegotiate old and inequitable record deals, highlighting renegotiation principles that have been adopted by the industry.
- The Ivors Academy will soon be publishing guidance for songwriters on the per-diem commitments made by the three major record companies and how writers can access payments.
- The CMM will continue to campaign for an equitable streaming market, now putting the focus on legislative reform. The Musicians’ Union – supported by other members of the CMM – will shortly launch a petition calling for copyright law reforms in order to address issues around streaming and AI.
MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the CMM’s campaign for equitable streaming – or to speak to a representative from one of the CMM organisations – email info@councilmusicmakers.org