The Council Of Music Makers has identified five fundamentals that must be achieved to ensure a truly transparent, dynamic and equitable streaming music business.
1. All featured artists should receive a modern, minimum digital royalty rate, with unrecouped balances written off after a term, on a rolling basis, without any additional conditions.
2. All session musicians should see the benefit of the streaming boom, on both new recordings and catalogue.
3. All music-makers should have an opportunity to revise outdated old contract terms, making old deals fit for purpose in the modern music business. Remuneration should always be fair and appropriate.
4. All songwriters and artists must be given transparency on how their music is monetised by each digital platform. That includes proactively communicating how monies are allocated to each music-maker’s songs and recordings, and then shared with and paid through to them.
5. The whole industry should ensure that all required music rights data is in the system before release. Every music-maker should always be credited for their contribution and digital royalties must reach songwriters as quickly and accurately as they do for artists.