The European Parliament is campaigning for better wages for musicians. In a resolution approved today by a large majority, MEPs called for “correcting the imbalance in the distribution of revenue from the music streaming market”, said the parliament in Strasbourg. Most authors and artists are currently underpaid due to the streaming market.
Parliament now wants remuneration to be regulated more strictly. However, the resolution is not legally binding. The EU Commission would have to introduce a concrete legal text. In accordance with Parliament's wishes, an EU bill should oblige platforms to make their algorithms and recommendation tools transparent.
AI music must be labeled
Furthermore, parliamentarians suggest that songs created by artificial intelligence (AI) be labeled. They also point to studies that show that revenues from the streaming business primarily benefit major record labels and individual popular artists.
Spotify is number one in music streaming with, according to its own information, more than 570 million monthly active users. How much of the proceeds go to artists depends on their record contracts. Spotify announced in November that from 2024 only songs with more than 1,000 views last year would be considered for payments. Other big players in the music streaming business are Apple and Amazon. However, the two large companies do not disclose user numbers.
The national collective management company AKM reacted with satisfaction to the EU Parliament's initiative. “The report recognizes the significant issues facing breeders,” it said in a statement. The president of AKM, Peter Vieweger, also referred to the economic importance of the cultural sector for Europe.