Creator Remuneration Working Group Outcome

 

---

The government has published a statement on the outcomes of the Creator Remuneration Working Group which has been meeting since April 2024.

This is a response to that statement from the Council of Music Makers, which brings together the Ivors Academy, the Featured Artists Coalition, the Musicians’ Union, the Music Producers Guild and the Music Managers Forum.

The government has agreed a set of principles with the BPI and AIM to attempt to address concerns about insufficient remuneration for British music-makers from streaming. As a result of these principles, the major record companies have committed to two new initiatives.  

First, they will offer per diems to songwriters working on spec at label-led sessions, ending the unacceptable practice of expecting writers to work for free on sessions that may not result in any songs being recorded and ensuring that songwriters are not left out of pocket. The major labels have confirmed they will not pass the cost of these per diems onto featured artists and it is vital this principle is adopted across the industry. 

Second, they have also committed to more proactively enter into contract renegotiations with artists who are locked into legacy record deals that can run for over a 100 years, and where royalty rates designed in the era of physical media have been unilaterally applied to digital income by labels. Artists will also be offered access to some new, extra marketing tools. However, we are concerned that such renegotiations may not result in better terms, with no commitment from record companies to agree to any changes. 

We support any scheme that provides additional support for music-makers and really appreciate the government’s proactiveness – especially the work of Minister Chris Bryant – in securing these commitments. 

Over the next year, we will support music-makers to test these initiatives and whether they can deliver meaningful change. The major labels have made bold estimates about the value and impact of these initiatives – but we are not convinced they can be substantiated. 

Nevertheless, we will work in good faith with the government to measure the actual impact of these provisions over the course of the next twelve months. We will need the support and engagement of our members as we seek to do this, and will communicate with members of the five CMM organisations on how they can help.

In 2021 Parliament’s Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee called for “a complete reset” of streaming. That resulted in a Creator Remuneration Working Group being convened involving stakeholders from across the music industry. This process led to the government agreeing these principles with BPI and AIM. 

 

Much more still needs to be done – because most of those fundamental issues remain unresolved. 

• Paying through on unrecouped balances: Both Universal Music and Warner Music refuse to adopt best practice, as already employed by Sony Music and many independents, by committing to pay through to artists with unrecouped balances on a rolling basis (after no more than 20 years), so that more artists benefit from this commitment each year.
  
• Inequitable royalty rates: Many legacy artists remain stuck in old record deals that pay inequitable royalty rates designed in the era of physical media and are not in a position to negotiate on a bespoke basis. The majors refuse to adopt best practice, as already employed in the independent sector – and stated in the streaming plan of IMPALA, the pan-European organisation for indie labels – and commit to pay all artists a contemporary royalty rate on streaming.
• Session, or backing, musicians earn nothing from streaming: They will also not receive royalties from AI training if major labels issue licences direct to tech firms without a change to copyright law. The BPI has agreed to an (at best) inflationary increase in the fees paid to session musicians for new recording sessions. However, these fees are usually ultimately paid for by featured artists and the nominal increase does not make up for the lack of remuneration when existing recordings are streamed millions of times. Nor does it mean record labels have the right to grant the consent of session musicians – or any performers – for AI training. We will continue to campaign for a PPL-managed streaming fund that delivers direct remuneration to all performers, including session musicians, and music-maker consent in AI. 
• The song remains undervalued: The % distributed value of the composition continues to fail to fully reflect its inherent value in all music. While the commitment to pay unrecoupable per diems to songwriters is welcomed and ends a particularly bad practice in the music industry, the vital work of songwriters is still being systematically undervalued in the streaming market. 

 

The major labels tell us they will not address systemic inequities in the way the streaming business works via any kind of voluntary deal agreed within the industry. We will now pursue other measures to achieve positive change. 

These issues were created when the big digital platforms and the major rightsholders unilaterally made a series of self-serving policy decisions in the early days of streaming in the 2000s, decisions that were made in secret without consulting or communicating with any music-makers. 

Similarly self-serving policy decisions are now being made by the major rightsholders as they negotiate deals with music AI start-ups, again without consulting or communicating with music-makers. We asked the majors a series of questions about those AI policy decisions two years ago – they remain unanswered. 

Copyright ultimately exists to empower, protect and incentivise human creativity. It is failing to do this because of the inequitable policies of digital platforms and major rightsholders. It is now time for us to turn to campaigning for copyright reform to ensure that those who create the work that has powered a decade of music industry growth are fairly rewarded for their role.

 

NEXT STEPS 

• The MPG as part of the CMM will this week publish guidance for music-makers on how to renegotiate old and inequitable record deals, highlighting renegotiation principles that have been adopted by the industry.
• The Ivors Academy will soon be publishing guidance for songwriters on the per-diem commitments made by the three major record companies and how writers can access payments.
• The MPG as part of the CMM will continue to campaign for an equitable streaming market, now putting the focus on legislative reform. The Musicians’ Union – supported by other members of the CMM – is launching a petition calling for copyright law reforms in order to address issues around streaming and AI.