Creator remuneration: What is the experience of songwriters and composers in the music industry?

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee will hear from multiple Grammy-winning musician Nile Rodgers as it quizzes experts and industry bodies on issues of creator remuneration for songwriters and composers.  

This is the second session in a series of non-inquiry sessions on Creator remuneration. These sessions dovetail the Committee’s exploration of remuneration issues that have been considered in the Committee's inquiries on the Economics of music streaming, the Impact of Covid-19 on the DCMS sectors and Cultural placemaking.  In the previous evidence session, MPs looked at the issues of fair remuneration for creatives working across a breadth of industries. 

The cross-party Committee will question the first panel about whether they have seen a ‘complete reset’ in the music streaming industry to fairly reward performers and creators, as recommended in the Committee’s 2021 music streaming report. MPs are likely to ask about music creators’ and songwriters' earnings, revenue splits between recording and publishing and the rise of foreign language music. They could also discuss the consolidation of the music industry dominated by the three major music groups and concerns about competition within the recording industry.   

With the second panel, MPs will probe songwriter remuneration and views on the experiences of songwriters and composers in the music industry. Questions could be asked about the independent publishing sector, the valuation of song rights and the talent pipeline for emerging songwriters. Concerns about AI, and whether it is disrupting songwriting and publishing, may also be discussed.  

Witnesses at 10:15:  

·       Professor David Hesmondhalgh, Professor of Media, Music and Culture, University of Leeds 

·       Merck Mercuriadis, Music Industry Executive, Artist Manager and Entrepreneur 

·       Nile Rodgers, Artist, Producer and Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame 

·       Dr Hyojung Sun, Lecturer in Business of Creative and Cultural Industries, University of York        

Witnesses at 11:30 on Zoom: 

·       Paul Clements, CEO, Music Publishers Association 

·       VV Brown, Singer-songwriter and board director at the Ivors Academy