UK government pledges to “support music sector” with streaming reforms

The UK government has addressed music streaming reforms after it pledged to look into concerns around the earnings of musicians from streaming platforms last year.

Last July, the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport held a meeting to explore concerns over streaming remunerations for artists as part of the Creator Remuneration Working Group (CRWG).

The meeting comprised figures from across the music industry, including artist representatives, record labels heads, and those working for streaming platforms, amongst others.

A year on, the government has now addressed these concerns with a new set of reforms for music streaming and other changes, led by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Creative Industries Minister Chris Bryant.

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“As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, this government is committed to supporting a thriving music sector where creators can build sustainable careers and are fairly rewarded for their work,” the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport said alongside a new set of principles.

Principles outlined include support for “legacy artists”, with programmes to “disregard unrecouped advances”, bespoke marketing tools to help increase streaming engagement, and “clarity about how legacy artists can seek and obtain contract renegotiation that appropriately remunerates them”.

Other commitments include support for songwriters, composers, and session musicians with “the payment of per diems at label-organised sessions, with major labels Warner UK and Universal UK committing to a payment of £75 per day, in addition to expenses”. 

It also outlines how Sony UK will fund a “bespoke new Songwriter Support Programme in partnership with the Ivors Academy” to support musicians financially, while BPI and the Musicians’ Union will increase fees for session musicians.

Read this next: UK committee calls for "complete reset" on music streaming industry

The government also said it was committed to monitoring the measures placed for the next year to assess whether they’re positively impacting musicians.

Last April, a report from the UK's Culture, Media and Sport Committee investigating working conditions in the creative industries called for a complete reset of music streaming.

"The revenue split between recording and publishing rights does not reflect the importance of songwriters, composers and publishers in the music streaming process", the report read.

Read the new principles here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter