With musicians’ earnings from streaming still under the spotlight, the World Intellectual Property Organization (Wipo) has published a study on ‘artists in the digital music marketplace‘. The report was prepared by music industry lawyer Chris Castle and Technical University of Madrid professor Claudio Feijóo.
It’s fair to say it will be welcomed more by artist rights campaigners than by labels and streaming services, as it zeroes in on “a pronounced imbalance between the significant market benefit to streaming music platforms derived from the world’s performers compared to the relatively scant financial benefit received by these same performers”.
The report addresses some of the models being suggested as improvements, including user-centric payouts and equitable remuneration. “One could argue that the impact of streaming on performers around the world was itself a necessary and sufficient reason to revisit copyright policy at any point in the last five years,” it suggests. “The onset of the pandemic removes all doubt. It is well for Wipo Member States to revisit this imbalance now.”
Image by MR Gao / Shutterstock.com
Stuart Dredge
