By Shiona McCallum, Technology reporter
The UK competition watchdog found that streaming has made the music industry a challenge for many artists.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that more than 80% of recorded music is now listened to via streaming, with more than 138 billion streams in the UK last year.
MPs had called for a “complete reset” of the industry, amid “poor returns” for artists.
They had asked the CMA to look into the power of the main players.
Although the primary focus of the report was on consumers, the watchdog found that a small number of high-profile artists enjoyed most of the financial success while the majority made no profit at all. substantial.
CMA interim chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “For many artists, it’s as tough as it’s ever been – and many feel they’re not getting a fair deal.”
But the report notes that streaming has made it easier not only for listeners to access music but also for artists to record and share it.
Low earnings
The report addresses the claim that most artists are underpaid for music streams and the business model only benefits major labels and star acts. To see also : The Music Commission is calling on the Council to expedite the activation of the Live Music Fund.
A million streams a month earns an artist only about £12,000 a year, he says.
Spotify is thought to pay between £0.002 and £0.0038 per stream, Apple Music around £0.0059.
YouTube pays the least – around £0.00052 (0.05p).
Catherine Willcox, from UK country music duo Ward Thomas, told BBC News: “After being in the industry for over ten years and achieving relative success – a number one album, sold out tours and lots of exciting spots of -festival – it could be. it seems from the outside that we are quite comfortable financially.
“However, with the decline in album sales across the board and the rise of streaming, no one is entirely sure how to sustain a creative career as the industry landscape changes so dramatically.”
The CMA noted that each artist was competing more than ever for each of these streams – both with new artists and, in the form of the back catalog, all the music ever made.
“We’re incredibly lucky to be able to do this full-time at the moment,” Wilcox said, “but it’s always very tenuous – and that’s coming from two artists who profit from the masters, performance rights and live shows.
“That’s even harder for songwriters who just get their writer’s cut.”
Best songs
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Analysis published by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) shows that the number reaching one million UK streams per month is still low, around 1,700.
“Some of the best songwriters we know have had to secure other sources of income so they can’t devote the proper time needed to their craft,” Wilcox said.
“The best songs have yet to be written – but if they’re not being fairly compensated, too many very talented people will be forced to quit.”
New audiences
The report found that streaming was now the primary means for artists and labels to distribute music and the public was embracing it. This may interest you : “Happy” and “sad” music might not be as universal as we thought.
Some of the other key findings include:
A number of groups had called for a full investigation of the market by the CMA – and more solutions to support singers and songwriters.
But the watchdog rejected this because “our initial findings did not identify any significant concerns in terms of consumer outcomes related to music streaming”.
The #BrokenRecord campaign was one of those groups – started by Gomez member Tom Gray at the start of the lockdown, after artists lost their tour tickets.
He told BBC News: “A serious concern is the mantra that things have always been so difficult.
“Indeed ‘as hard as’ suggests that things could have been worse – but we can see no evidence for such an assertion.
“The IPO did a creator earnings report last year and couldn’t find data to say where things were in the past, so it feels pretty baseless.
“Creators find it more difficult now to make an income from recorded music than ever before.”
‘Good deal’
Listeners now have access to a huge selection of music for a monthly subscription fee – and they’ve shrunk in real terms.
But Mr Gray said this was bad for the artists.
“Rhapsody, the first streaming service cost $9.99 in 2001,” he said.
“Streaming costs the same 21 years later.
“Obviously, this is good business for consumers – but is it destructive to the value of the music itself?
“The answer should be, ‘Yes.’
The CMA also raised “grave concerns” that some artists’ labels provided insufficient information about how their earnings were calculated.
Mr Gray said: “While music has always been precarious, the pro-rata system is far more ‘winner takes all’ than anything we’ve seen before.”
The CMA said the market was delivering good results for customers but would be concerned if:
Independent Music Association chief executive Paul Pacifico said: “We welcome the CMA’s update report, which reinforces what we know – that building success in music is difficult – and highlights the a need for organizations around music to work together to ensure positive results for the sector.”
The chief executive of the British Phonographic Industry, Geoff Taylor, also welcomed the findings and said: “We will continue to engage with the CMA and the government to help ensure that the streaming market works for the benefit of artists , songwriters, record companies and fans.”
‘Serious problems’
Ms Cardell said: “Our initial analysis shows that outcomes for artists are not driven by competitive issues, such as sustained excessive profits.
“We are now keen to hear views on our initial findings, which will help guide our thinking and inform our final report.”
Musicians’ Union general secretary Naomi Pohl said it was “disappointing” the “competition issues” in the streaming market “will not be fully explored by a CMA investigation”.
“The CMA’s release today highlights what it considers to be positive impacts of music streaming – but we feel they have failed to recognize the very serious problems created for creators,” she said.
