The Government has agreed to establish an industry working group
to explore issues around fair pay for creators in the music
streaming industry, as recommended by the CMS
Committee in its report earlier this year.
The announcement of the new group is made in a letter from the
Department to Committee Chair Dame Caroline Dinenage. The
Committee’s report in January was a follow-up to its
original 2021 report on
the Economics of music
streaming and called for more to be done
to ensure creators and performers receive a fairer cut of the
money made from streaming music.
According to the Government, the new group will be composed of
representatives and experts from across the music sector and will
‘explore and develop industry-led actions that support fair
remuneration for existing and future music creators as part of a
successful and globally competitive music industry’.
The Committee’s original report concluded that ‘metadata issues
compound the poor terms on which creators are remunerated’ and
called for Government and industry action. The Committee is
awaiting detail of progress on this issue between the Government
and industry and will want to be confident that all sides are
working in the interests of artists.
, Chair of the CMS
Committee, said: “The creation of a working group we
have been calling for is a welcome step towards addressing the
frustrations of musicians and songwriters whose pay falls far
short of a fair level given their central role in the success of
the music streaming industry. The Government must now make sure
the group is more than a talking shop and leads to concrete
change so the talented creators and performers we have in this
country are properly rewarded for their creativity. The Committee
will be keeping a close eye on progress and also looking more
widely at artist and creator remuneration to ensure everyone who
works in our creative industries can share in its
successes.”
