UK Parliament committee will investigate the economic impact of streaming on musicians and labels next month
A committee from the Department Of Digital, Culture, Media And Sport (DCMS) will examine the business models of global music streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Google Play, as well as the sustainability of streaming for the music industry and controversial new copyright and intellectual property policy in the EU. “Music streaming in the UK brings in more than £1 billion in revenue with 114 billion music streams in the last year, however artists can be paid as little as 13 percent of the income generated,” the inquiry notice states.
The DCMS committee has shared a form where experts, artists, labels and others industry can submit their responses to the following questions:
• What are the dominant business models of platforms that offer music streaming as a service?
• Have new features associated with streaming platforms, such as algorithmic curation of music or company playlists, influenced consumer habits, tastes, etc.?
• What has been the economic impact and long-term implications of streaming on the music industry, including for artists, record labels, record shops, etc.?
• How can the government protect the industry from knock-on effects, such as increased piracy of music? Does the UK need an equivalent of the Copyright Directive?
• Do alternative business models exist? How can policy favour more equitable business models?
Responses are due by November 16th at 6 PM GMT. Find more information and submit a response here.
In the US this week, the Union Of Musicians launched a campaign against Spotify called Justice At Spotify, demanding a minimum payout rate of one penny per stream. Read the full report by Kiana Mickles.
Revisit Angus Finlayson’s two-part series on the changing economics of electronic music, which discusses streaming in depth.
