Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Saturday July 17 2021, @02:13PM   Printer-friendly

UK Parliament calls for 50/50 streaming royalties split between artists and record labels:

In an attempt to ensure fair pay for musicians, UK parliament members are asking the music industry to give artists a higher cut of profits earned from streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify.

United Kingdom government officials are looking to change the way musicians get paid, citing concerns over how streaming funds are distributed. The government had launched the inquiry into streaming service payouts in October of 2020.

According to the BBC, Spotify pays artists between GBP 0.002 ($0.0028) and GBP 0.0038 ($0.0053) per stream. Apple Music pays about GBP 0.0059 ($0.0082.) YouTube pays even less — about GBP 0.00052 ($0.00072) per stream.

There is some discrepancy in the findings, though, as in April Apple claimed it pays a penny per stream

According to the UK government's findings, artists receive about 13% of the revenue they make off their music, with the rest of the money going toward record labels and distributors. Artists who release their own music or work with independent labels tend to get a higher share, though many of these artists have a more difficult time getting their music in front of potential fans.

Government officials argue that the split should be 50/50 between artists and "rights holders," which has been the established rate for radio play.


Original Submission

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(1)
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:01PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:01PM (#1157265)

    Pay artitsts a one-time fee of $500 per song. If they don't like it, they can get a real job.

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:07PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:07PM (#1157269)

      A real job... riding along on the back of others peoples' work. Those meetings aren't going to schedule themselves.

      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:43PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:43PM (#1157287)

        Ideologically I find it difficult to disagree with that sentiment. But pragmatically? Do you know what Van Gogh, Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville, and Bach all have in common? You, like anybody reasonably educated Westerner, probably at least know "of" them. That's in stark contrast to the world during their lives, when pretty much nobody had even heard of them. Most of the above died in poverty, or found a job outside their talent to make ends meet.

        An artist who can make amazing music will likely be lucky to see even that $500 for his work unless he also happens to be an excellent self promoters. Self promoters tend to be the scum suckers of this Earth, fast talkers, conmen, empty suits, politicians, and other generally worthless individuals. But the people that can actually do things are left to rely on the bottom feeders, or they'll be lucky to ever see even that $500 for their talent during their life.

        This is even more true now a days in a global world where instead of competing against the best e.g. bands in your area, you're competing against the best bands in the world.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @04:49PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @04:49PM (#1157299)

          Poe is probably not the greatest example. He was a working editor during his lifetime and had he not gotten rabies, there's a pretty good chance that he would have been better known during his lifetime. He did get to enjoy some of this success with respect to The Raven, but he was only 40 when he died, which makes the fact that any of his work entered the public imagination during his lifetime rather impressive.

        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday July 17 2021, @11:17PM

          by c0lo (156) on Saturday July 17 2021, @11:17PM (#1157405) Journal

          Self promoters tend to be the scum suckers of this Earth, fast talkers, conmen, empty suits, politicians, and other generally worthless individuals.

          There are enough who promote themselves by promoting what is behind what they do. Example: Adam Neely [wikipedia.org]

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:28PM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:28PM (#1157281)

    Book publishing contracts that were made before widespread internet access are often extended to e-books at the same royalty rate as printed books (typically 10% of revenue to the publisher goes to the author). While publishers have a variety of expenses, removing the cost of printing paper books for e-book editions should leave a larger share for authors.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:53PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:53PM (#1157289)

      The artists often times wind up being charged for breakage related to digital copies. I'm curious how those files break in such a way that there's damage to pay for.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 19 2021, @02:09AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 19 2021, @02:09AM (#1157765)

        Not 'often', but 'industry standard', and the fee is based on the expected rate of Bakelite records being damaged in shipping, plus a markup. Electronic files break exactly the same way vinyl records have done since the 1940's..

    • (Score: 4, Informative) by deimtee on Saturday July 17 2021, @04:50PM (1 child)

      by deimtee (3272) on Saturday July 17 2021, @04:50PM (#1157300) Journal

      The printing cost is far smaller than you think. Generally less than 10% of the retail cost of a book.

      --
      No problem is insoluble, but at Ksp = 2.943×10−25 Mercury Sulphide comes close.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @05:40PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @05:40PM (#1157309)

        Yes, printing (in large quantity) is not expensive. I'm not suggesting that authors should get 50%, but maybe 15-20% for e-books, instead of 10%.

    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday July 17 2021, @05:22PM (5 children)

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday July 17 2021, @05:22PM (#1157306) Journal

      typically 10% of revenue to the publisher goes to the author

      What a horrible ripoff.. It should be in reverse. The wrong people control this market

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @05:47PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @05:47PM (#1157311)

        > The wrong people control this market

        Nope, the artists (often) have little business sense or interest in running a business. Business people control the market because the artists allow it (with some notable exceptions of course).

        Yes there are high profile stories of artists duped into bad business deals, but most art just isn't all that valuable.

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Saturday July 17 2021, @06:26PM (2 children)

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 17 2021, @06:26PM (#1157317) Homepage Journal

          Music industry business sense: Taking a 30 year old song and "remastering" it, pretending that they have created something of value. We've all read stories of the labels making millions on top of millions, and the artist gets a "royalty" of maybe $1.50.

          While I despise the state of copyright today, I would feel better if the actual artists got a much larger chunk of the change. The problem is, corporate accountants do all the accounting, and no one represents those artists.

          --
          Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
          • (Score: 2) by RamiK on Saturday July 17 2021, @08:06PM

            by RamiK (1813) on Saturday July 17 2021, @08:06PM (#1157352)

            While the vast majority of remasters are just reissues, there's exceptions. e.g. the 2013 [youtube.com] remaster of Nina Simone's Little Girl Blue is clearly more center-balanced than the 2021 [youtube.com] remaster.

            Personally I prefer the recent, more polarized, mix but I know some folks absolutely hate having the vocals favoring one channel or the next and would opt for the older mixes.

            Regardless, it's just one example. Between different types and levels of compression, "opinionated" remasters, original media (LP vs. tape. vs. 90s' era digital vs. contemporary digital*) and newer hardware/software, there's some room for different remasters. The issue is the labeling. Too many reissues are mixed in-between to tell what's what.

            *the quality of cheap commodity headphones and speakers has taken a huge leap forward and the amplification circuitry is also quite good nowadays so people want more dynamic range and separation especially in Jazz and Metal.

            --
            compiling...
          • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday July 17 2021, @09:08PM

            by krishnoid (1156) on Saturday July 17 2021, @09:08PM (#1157374)

            They could [theoatmeal.com]. Some artists release their stuff via Bandcamp, which is a good idea as well.

        • (Score: 2, Funny) by fustakrakich on Saturday July 17 2021, @06:37PM

          by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday July 17 2021, @06:37PM (#1157321) Journal

          Business people control the market because the artists allow it

          Yep, but at least now, self publishing is a reasonable alternative. Regular publishers will have to offer reasonable prices for services rendered, a la "gig economy". Oh shit, here comes Uber Entertainment

          --
          La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:33PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:33PM (#1157284)

    The percentage you're paying is too high priced
    While you're living beyond all your means
    And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
    From the profit he's made on your dreams

    -Traffic, The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

    --
    #FreeBritney

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @04:02PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @04:02PM (#1157290)

      Not a new problem:

      Roy Orbison - Where Does All The Money Go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmgUhZDVLEo [youtube.com]

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Mojibake Tengu on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:37PM

    by Mojibake Tengu (8598) on Saturday July 17 2021, @03:37PM (#1157285) Journal

    Every artist having his-or-her own website, with fan stuff and fun stuff, concerts traveling plan, and, last but not least, own media e-shop.

    Using streaming services like Bilibili, Tencent, dozens of others, or even poor YouTube which are sufficient enough to lure fans. Spotify is just one another in a row.
    That works perfectly in Japan. And very well In Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, all Chinas, ...

    Drop parasites record labels and rights holders completely from the chain. Keep your own rights to yourself to hold.

    Don't forget about GNU MediaGoblin while building own media site.

    --
    The edge of 太玄 cannot be defined, for it is beyond every aspect of design
  • (Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @04:12PM (9 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @04:12PM (#1157291)

    SoylentNews should give commenters a higher cut of revenue. According to industry sources, SoylentNews receives approximately $200 in revenue per comment. Commenters receive none of this revenue with the rest apparently going towards hookers and blow for the site's management team.

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by KilroySmith on Saturday July 17 2021, @05:55PM (1 child)

      by KilroySmith (2113) on Saturday July 17 2021, @05:55PM (#1157313)

      with the rest apparently going towards hookers and blow for the site's management team.

      I'm OK with that. Speaking of which, where do I send my Resume?

    • (Score: 2) by Booga1 on Saturday July 17 2021, @06:15PM (2 children)

      by Booga1 (6333) on Saturday July 17 2021, @06:15PM (#1157314)

      I'm on board with this!
      I think it should be tied to moderation scores. Some people's contributions quickly reach negative values...

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @08:00PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @08:00PM (#1157345)

        Yes but where would we be if there were no idiots to rail at?! IDIOT!

      • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 18 2021, @03:34AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 18 2021, @03:34AM (#1157457)

        Moderation is bullshit, broken in concept and execution. Do I care what some opinionated bozo on this site thinks of a post, i.e., does the post agree with the moderator, because that's what gets a post upmodded. -1 is the only way to browse this site. Think for yourself.

    • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Saturday July 17 2021, @08:06PM

      by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 17 2021, @08:06PM (#1157351) Journal
      Thanks for the laugh - have a 'Funny' up mod!
    • (Score: 3, Funny) by krishnoid on Saturday July 17 2021, @09:04PM (2 children)

      by krishnoid (1156) on Saturday July 17 2021, @09:04PM (#1157373)

      Have you seen the site's budget? I bet those hookers are what was left over on conclusion of all the human trafficking draft rounds, and the blow is probably barely fentanyl-contaminated [youtu.be] baking soda.

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @09:14PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @09:14PM (#1157376)

        》 the blow is probably barely fentanyl-contaminated [youtu.be] baking soda.

        Which would explain a lot of the editorial decisions.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 19 2021, @01:37AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 19 2021, @01:37AM (#1157758)

          We need more Fent to improve submissions for publishing. Will get a horse doc right.on that.

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @08:34PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 17 2021, @08:34PM (#1157367)

    Purge the Jew parasites from the body of the creative White host.

  • (Score: 2) by MIRV888 on Sunday July 18 2021, @02:42AM

    by MIRV888 (11376) on Sunday July 18 2021, @02:42AM (#1157449)

    I wonder how long the music labels laughed at the suggestion.

  • (Score: 2) by jb on Monday July 19 2021, @04:02AM

    by jb (338) on Monday July 19 2021, @04:02AM (#1157783)

    Apple Music pays about GBP 0.0059 ($0.0082.) YouTube pays even less — about GBP 0.00052 ($0.00072) per stream.

    There is some discrepancy in the findings, though, as in April Apple claimed it pays a penny per stream.

    Not as much as you might think. Remember that one penny (1d) is approximately 0.417 new pence (0.417p), which isn't all that much less than the 0.59p result quoted.

(1)