LONDON — The U.K. government has announced a major shake-up for musicians in relation to artist remuneration and per diem payments for songwriters and session musicians. The agreement has been backed by the U.K. arms of major labels Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group.
On Tuesday (July 22) Sir Chris Bryant, creative industries minister, announced a raft of measures to boost the U.K. scene to support legacy artists, songwriters and session musicians. These include renegotiation of contracts by artists who signed record deals before streaming became commonplace, and assistance in helping artists digitize their back catalog.
The changes have been worked on by the Creator Remuneration Working Group (CRWG) chaired by Bryant, which includes stakeholders from musicians, songwriters and producers, as well as major and independent record labels, music publishers, streaming platforms and collective management organizations.
Bryant shared that the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Musicians’ Union have agreed to an uplift in session musician fees of up to 40% for pop sessions and 15% for classical to ensure greater payment for musicians. He added that the changes are estimated to deliver “tens of millions of pounds in new investment to support musicians” by 2030.
British stars such as RAYE and Myles Smith have used their platforms to call on the industry to introduce a per diem and travel expenses for songwriters attending writing sessions. Songwriters will now receive a £75 ($101) per diem plus expenses for their work; the per diem is non-recoupable from featured artists.
Until recently, songwriters had not received basic coverage for expenses and relied on potential future royalties to cover costs. This is the first time anywhere in the world that such an agreement has been struck for songwriters.
The Ivors Academy’s chief executive Roberto Neri says, “There is no music industry without songwriters and these payments will ensure that songwriters are not out of pocket when turning up to work.” Details on the payment process will be made available by The Ivors Academy in the near future.
The announcement also states that U.K. labels will “disregard unrecouped advances on contracts signed before 1 January 2000, with this rolling forward on an annual basis or bespoke support being offered.” Labels will also help legacy artists to “improve streaming outcomes,” and “respond to requests to renegotiate legacy contracts within 60 days, taking a holistic view of each agreement’s history and context.”
The changes will continue to be monitored by the government and promise further intervention if necessary. They also add that a meeting will take place in September with key organizations to discuss streaming pay for session musicians on a track.
Sir Chris Bryant said in his announcement, “Everyone loves music and it’s about time we really valued the people who create it. Millions of us use music streaming platforms who provide a fantastic service to their customers, connecting users with a wealth of music from around the world.
“But many musicians and songwriters are really struggling and artists simply don’t think they receive their fair share of the profit generated by their work on these platforms. These new measures, which apply specifically in the UK, are an important step in ensuring creators are fairly paid for their work.
“I would like to thank the sector for coming together to drive this positive progress, which will benefit the music industry as a whole.”
The news has been welcomed by members of 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. But coalition warn that “much more needs to be done” and are skeptical of the majors’ estimation of the value this will add to the music scene.
Read their full joint statement below:
“We greatly appreciate the efforts of the government in seeking to improve the streaming economy for music-makers through the Creator Remuneration Working Group process.
We will ensure our members are fully aware of the label-led initiatives to come out of this process and very much welcome the new commitment by labels to pay per diems to songwriters, ensuring 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.”
Minister Chris Bryant has dedicated a great deal of time and resources trying to agree creator-friendly terms with the BPI and major labels, in an attempt to address unfair remuneration.
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.
However, to be clear, much more still needs to be done. In 2021 Parliament’s Culture, Media & Sport Select 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 systemic inequities 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 rightsholders.
The Council Of Music Makers remains committed to reaching a fairer settlement for all music makers, and we will now collectively pursue other legislative measures to achieve positive change for those that create the work our industry is built on.”