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We're calling for per diems to be paid to songwriters in addition to points on the master. Your views will help our negotiations with the major music groups.
Campaigning
Many songwriters are currently undervalued and underpaid.
Streaming has transformed the way we listen to and discover music, but the law has not kept up with the pace of change.
We’re calling on record labels to offer fairer deals – including daily writing fees and royalties on master recordings. We’re pushing for proper recognition and respect for the people behind the songs we love.
Songwriters take a stand
Songwriters and artists, including Chappell Roan and RAYE, have spoken out about the urgent need for industry reform to ensure fair pay and protections for creatives. At The Ivors 2024, RAYE called on labels to allocate songwriters a share of master recording revenues and a minimum daily allowance to cover travel and expenses when working with artists.
What needs to change
We’re lobbying the music industry and UK government to introduce reforms to ensure fair pay and protections for music creators.
We’re calling for:
- Labels to introduce a minimum daily allowance (per diem) for songwriters’ expenses when working with artists.
- Labels to assign four points from the master/recording to songwriters.
- Streaming services to introduce mechanisms to reward composers who produce longer works.
- Streaming services to ensure the song is fairly valued by engaging in negotiations with publishers in parallel with labels.
- In line with EU law, for the government to introduce contract adjustment mechanisms.
Why we need change
Despite a rise in percentage rates paid to songwriters, revenues have declined by 20% in real terms from 2000 to 2019, according to research from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). In 2019, a songwriter generating one million streams per month, a milestone achieved by just 0.026% of tracks, could expect to earn only £15,288 per year. This is less than the UK’s minimum wage for full-time work.
More recent data paints an equally stark picture. A 2024 report by Midia Research revealed that songwriters and composers receive just 10% of the revenue a stream generates. Lack of meaningful streaming income remains the top concern for more than two-thirds of songwriters surveyed, regardless of their career stage or income level.
As production costs shift further onto the shoulders of songwriters, barriers to entry are growing. Young and emerging songwriters, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, are being priced out of the industry.
In a revolutionary report, the DCMS Select Committee of MPs called for a “complete reset” of music streaming so that songwriters, composers, and artists, who currently receive “pitiful returns”, are fairly rewarded.
This is after months of campaigning and thanks to you and almost 18,000 other songwriters, composers and performers, who called for a music streaming inquiry. The Committee heard in detail how streaming is affecting songwriters, composers and performers.
See the Government’s timeline with major milestones in its work on streaming.
