(Finance) – The Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) of the European Parliament called for new rules to ensure a fair and sustainable environment for music streamingand to promote cultural diversity.
In a resolution adopted with 23 votes in favour, 3 against and 1 abstention, the deputies of the Culture and Education Committee asked that imbalances in the sector are addressedsince currently the Most authors receive very little income. The “pre-digital royalty rates” currently applied must be reviewed, MEPs say, condemning “payola” schemes that force authors to accept lower or no revenues in exchange for greater visibility.
Even though streaming platforms dominate the music market and have grown steadily over the past eight years, There are no EU rules regulating the sector, underline the MEPs. The situation is aggravated by the decline in the overall value of music products, with revenues concentrated in the hands of major labels and the most famous artists, by the increase in content generated by artificial intelligence and, according to studies, by streaming fraud (i.e. bots that manipulate streaming), and manipulation and illegal use of musical content by platforms.
MEPs are calling for an EU bill that would oblige platforms to make their algorithms and recommendation tools transparent and to ensure that European works are visible and accessible. It should also include a diversity indicator to assess the range of genres and languages available and the presence of independent authors.
Furthermore, the MEPs they call on the EU to invest more in European musicincluding local and niche artists or from vulnerable communities to offer a more diverse repertoire, as well as supporting authors in the digital transformation of their business models.
The vote in the plenary on the non-legislative resolution is scheduled for Strasbourg session in January 2024.
(Photo: Zarak Khan on Unsplash)