The UK government has shared details of new measures aimed at supporting legacy artists, songwriters and session musicians – which they have called “the best deal in the world”. Industry leaders have, however, come out and said that “much more still needs to be done”.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced on Tuesday (July 22) that these changes – made in partnership with major labels – will “deliver tens of millions of pounds in new investment to support musicians by 2030” and “provide a major boost for UK music creators”.
The plans have been put forward by the Creator Remuneration Working Group (CRWG) – which is chaired by Creative Industries Minster Sir Chris Bryant MP – and will include a new framework for the renegotiation of contracts by artists who signed a record deal before the ‘boom’ of streaming platforms.
The CRWG and major labels have also revealed plans to support songwriters and composers via the payment of expenses for recording sessions. The changes will also see an uplift in the fees for session musicians – with pop sessions seeing a rise of up to 40 per cent, ensuring that they are “more fairly paid for their work”.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has explained the need for the changes, saying: “Streaming has totally revolutionised how audiences discover and enjoy music, and how artists connect with their fans across the globe. But we have heard loud and clear from creators that more needs to be done to ensure they are fairly compensated when their work is used on streaming platforms.”
One of the main factors of this new deal is the protection of legacy artists. The landscape of the music industry is unrecognisable from when these musicians signed their first record label, and the government has recognised this with the new protections.
Speaking about this specific issue, Sir Chris Bryant MP said: “One of my concerns has been legacy artists; artists who are important in the streaming world and sometimes their work suddenly comes back into prominence, but they hardly earn anything from streaming because they’re still on legacy contracts.
“What we’ve been doing through the CRWG is trying to get the record labels to preferably wipe off all overdue balances. If they’re not going to do that, then to renegotiate with legacy artists so that they’re not on five, six, seven per cent of royalty rates are on something more like 25 to 30 per cent.”
Despite this news being welcomed by the music industry, many still feel that a lot more has to be done and that longstanding issues with streaming inequality still remains.
The Council of Music Makers said in a statement: “In 2021 Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee raised several fundamental issues regarding the streaming business model, calling for a ‘complete reset’. These issues remain largely unresolved, as major labels say they will not address systematic inequalities in the way streaming works voluntarily.
“This means our copyright law is currently failing to empower and protect the UK’s human creators because of the inequitable policies of major right-holders.”
Calls for the improvement and protection of musicians rights have only gained traction in the last year or so, with the likes of Music Venue Trust and Featured Artists Coalition gaining more recognition. Whether the UK government is doing enough to tackle these issues, time will tell.
Head to musicvenuetrust.com to learn more about the charity aiming to “protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues” and keep an eye on mxdwn.co.uk to keep up to date with this evolving story.
