{"id":5028,"title":"Keeping Music Alive","description":"If you use a music streaming service like Spotify and assume that the people creating the music are getting properly paid for it, you may be surprised. We look at plans to make things fairer for music creators and how you could help ...","content":"

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Music isn't just something we represent on quirky Goathouse t-shirt designs. Apart from anything else, it has played a big part in helping many of us through those difficult lockdown moments. But like so many job sectors, those working in the music industry are being hit really hard by Covid19. \u2063<\/p>

The music scene really is facing challenging times<\/h2>

Performances, live gigs, festivals and commissions have been put on hold, recording studios closed, and no-one knows for how long. And then there's Brexit just round the corner which was always going to bring additional difficulties. So the music scene really is facing challenging times.\u2063\u2063
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\u2063Those who have created music on streaming services should of course at least be getting some money from royalties, even if all their other income streams have dried up for now. But the problem is, they hardly get anything because the system doesn't work for them.<\/p>

\u2063While there is a lot of money generated by the streaming of music, songwriters, composers and performers just don't get their due share.
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World renowned violinist Tasmin Little OBE, told the BBC recently<\/a> that she has 755,000 monthly listeners, which equates to about 5 to 6 million streams in six months, and gets paid just \u00a312.34 for it. (Yes, the decimal point is in the right place.) You can't live off that. And of course, less established artists will be getting far less from streaming.\u2063\u2063<\/p>

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This crisis has highlighted the serious flaws of the music industry<\/h2>

According to the Ivors Academy (the independent professional association for music creators):<\/p>

\"We\u2019re calling for a Government review into streaming. The streaming model has been broken for years and it is getting worse. We must fix streaming now by building an equitable, sustainable and transparent model.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>

As the Musicians' Union says:<\/p>

\"We want greater transparency in where the money goes, and a fairer share of the pie for music creators and performers, so that music creators and performers don't have to rely on hardship funds while major labels boast about record streaming profits.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>

This Covid19 crisis has highlighted the serious flaws of the music industry. The flow of money needs to be more transparent and fair for the whole music system.\u2063\u2063<\/p>

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Not much Government lockdown help for musicians<\/h2>


There hasn't been much Government lockdown help for musicians either. So many musicians are really struggling and considering whether they can afford to carry on doing what they do.\u2063\u2063<\/p>

This is a time of crisis for tens of thousands of music creators.<\/p>

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Time to #FixStreaming<\/h2>

So we are supporting the petition from the Ivors Academy<\/a> and the Musicians' Union<\/a> which asks the Government to hold an urgent review of streaming to ensure that music creators are recognised fairly and get reasonable earnings when their music is played.\u2063\u2063 The Keep Music Alive campaign aims to \u2018fix streaming\u2019 and calls for industry stakeholders to come together to agree an equitable, sustainable and transparent model for royalty distribution in the streaming era.<\/p>

Want to help?<\/h2>

Help ensure we have a music industry that works for music creators.<\/p>

If you'd like to #FixStreaming, #KeepMusicAlive and help ensure that many thousands of musicians are treated fairly and recognised for what they have created, please:<\/p>