While this progress is encouraging, we at The Ivors Academy believe there are critical challenges that need addressing. These include the imbalance between recording and composition revenues, safeguarding works against unapproved AI training, and promoting fair negotiations—all vital to securing a sustainable future for songwriters and composers.
The UK remains a magnet for musical talent, from homegrown songwriters such as RAYE to international writers like Victoria Canal, who choose to build their careers here. The industry’s success reflects not only the talent of its songwriters and composers but also their ability to innovate and adapt to new opportunities. Yet, maintaining this global leadership demands that we address the systemic barriers they face.
The report highlights significant achievements, including record royalties in 2023. PRS for Music distributed £944 million in royalties—a historic high—while MCPS revenues rose by 11%. These milestones underline the value of songwriters and composers in driving the music industry’s success. However, despite growth driven by digital innovation, persistent challenges threaten the sustainability of music creators. The current revenue-sharing model disproportionately benefits recording rightsholders. Established during the download era, this structure fails to reflect the enduring value of compositions in today’s streaming-first market. Songwriters and composers deserve a fairer share for the value they bring to the industry.
AI offers tools to streamline administrative tasks and identify copyright infringements, yet it also threatens careers, earnings and ultimately the future of the industry. Unauthorised use of songwriters’ work to train AI models that then compete with their music, and a lack of transparency in AI-generated music pose significant challenges. To address these threats, we need robust protections for creators while ensuring AI tools are used ethically and transparently.
Publishers are important partners for songwriters and composers, yet their ability to secure fair revenues is often constrained. Record labels typically negotiate with digital service providers first, leaving publishers to compete for a smaller share of revenue allocated to the song. This imbalance must be corrected to ensure digital revenues are distributed more fairly.
To safeguard the future of music, The Ivors Academy is committed to advocating for streaming models that fairly value compositions and provide equitable royalties to songwriters and composers.
We are working with industry partners to ensure transparency in AI-generated music and robust protections against the unauthorised use of songwriters’ work. If industry solutions on AI fall short, we are prepared to call for legislative action. By championing outstanding creators and equipping them with the opportunities and knowledge they need to thrive, we aim to ensure the UK remains a globally competitive centre for songwriters and composers.
The This Is Music 2024 report is an important reminder of the UK music industry’s strength and potential. But to remain competitive, we must adapt. Growth cannot come at the expense of songwriters and composers. Instead, it must be driven by their success. The future of music depends on its creators. Songwriters and composers must be at the heart of every negotiation, innovation and policy decision.
We can then build an industry that grows fairly—one that values the song as much as the recording and protects creators from emerging threats while empowering and championing them to fulfil their potential.
