The MU’s assistant general secretary made the remark at MusicTank’s panel, Creative Rights in the Digital Landscape, which gathered industry experts to discuss the growth of digital music services and their effect on performer royalties.
'There has to be a truth and reconciliation process in order to make us all feel like we have ownership to protect from the tech companies who take advantage of our creativity,' he said.
‘We’ve got massive battles ahead, so I don’t understand why labels won’t play fair. They need us onside all saying the same thing. But every week you’ll hear from another artist who people respect, admire and follow, saying they’re being screwed. Record labels hate that PR but they won’t do anything about it.’
He said that the MU backs record companies on all issues affecting its members – such as online piracy and the safe harbor loophole.
‘But we’re softies’, he said. ‘What I feel we should have said all along is, “no, you fight those battles by yourself until we are equal shareholders or we are shareholders with some kind of decent ownership". What’s going on here?’
Trubridge was joined by Alexander Ross (partner, Wiggin LLP), Featured Artist Coalition and Music Managers Forum’s Fiona McGugan, MusicTank’s Keith Harris and Benoit Machuel (International Federation of Musicians).
Together, they considered whether it’s time to recalibrate artists’ rights in a digital world as new ‘access’ consumption models highlight the gaps in copyright legislation. They also discussed the disparity between artists’ and labels’ royalty shares from streaming.
McGughan said: ‘On the commercial side of the industry, the only thing that’s going to change the way labels operate [outside of a change in legislation] is how transparent everything else is becoming.
‘With the advent of label services, artists can sign deals on much fairer terms and see their accounts in real terms. They can make that choice. Artists are becoming smarter and smarter. Also, how many more Adele’s can the majors lose out on? Probably not that many more. Indie labels are doing better and better, and are becoming more competitive – which may force the majors to change.’
Machuel added: ‘If you start paying artists a decent share it is going to affect the balance of the [record companies’] business model. So it is a matter of changing mindset.
‘Also, the price of the [monthly streaming] subscription is a question of profitability and psychological thresholds – how far is the public willing to go? How profitable can businesses remain when artists start getting paid properly?’
MusicTank’s latest panel discussion was underpinned by McGugan’s recent insight paper, Making Available, Communication to the Public and User Interactivity.
You can access the report here: https://www.musictank.co.uk/resources/reports/making-available-communication-to-the-public-user-interactivity
'There has to be a truth and reconciliation process in order to make us all feel like we have ownership to protect from the tech companies who take advantage of our creativity,' he said.
‘We’ve got massive battles ahead, so I don’t understand why labels won’t play fair. They need us onside all saying the same thing. But every week you’ll hear from another artist who people respect, admire and follow, saying they’re being screwed. Record labels hate that PR but they won’t do anything about it.’
He said that the MU backs record companies on all issues affecting its members – such as online piracy and the safe harbor loophole.
‘But we’re softies’, he said. ‘What I feel we should have said all along is, “no, you fight those battles by yourself until we are equal shareholders or we are shareholders with some kind of decent ownership". What’s going on here?’
Trubridge was joined by Alexander Ross (partner, Wiggin LLP), Featured Artist Coalition and Music Managers Forum’s Fiona McGugan, MusicTank’s Keith Harris and Benoit Machuel (International Federation of Musicians).
Together, they considered whether it’s time to recalibrate artists’ rights in a digital world as new ‘access’ consumption models highlight the gaps in copyright legislation. They also discussed the disparity between artists’ and labels’ royalty shares from streaming.
McGughan said: ‘On the commercial side of the industry, the only thing that’s going to change the way labels operate [outside of a change in legislation] is how transparent everything else is becoming.
‘With the advent of label services, artists can sign deals on much fairer terms and see their accounts in real terms. They can make that choice. Artists are becoming smarter and smarter. Also, how many more Adele’s can the majors lose out on? Probably not that many more. Indie labels are doing better and better, and are becoming more competitive – which may force the majors to change.’
Machuel added: ‘If you start paying artists a decent share it is going to affect the balance of the [record companies’] business model. So it is a matter of changing mindset.
‘Also, the price of the [monthly streaming] subscription is a question of profitability and psychological thresholds – how far is the public willing to go? How profitable can businesses remain when artists start getting paid properly?’
MusicTank’s latest panel discussion was underpinned by McGugan’s recent insight paper, Making Available, Communication to the Public and User Interactivity.
You can access the report here: https://www.musictank.co.uk/resources/reports/making-available-communication-to-the-public-user-interactivity
