Category: Campaigning
The Culture, Media and Sport select committee has published a report on Creator Remuneration following meetings in parliament where Ivors Academy Board member VV Brown and Nile Rodgers gave evidence to MPs about the issues facing songwriters. This report is published by the same committee that produced the ‘Economics of Streaming’ inquiry in 2021 that […]
With those lines our summit was open. Supported by PRS for Music, sponsored by DAACI and with Music Ally as media partner, the event heard from policy makers, tech companies, collecting societies, and music makers who spoke and presented to a room full of creators who wanted to learn what making music in the era […]
AI is rapidly changing the music industry, presenting both opportunities and threats. Many songwriters are using AI as part of their creative process but AI models are being trained on copyright works without permission and generating new music that risks being indistinguishable from human-created music. This is why it is important for you to be […]
The Ivors Academy, the UK’s leading organisation for songwriters and composers, has announced the speaker line-up for its upcoming Global Creators Summit on AI and Music, taking place on 20th September 2023 at Tanner Warehouse in London. The summit, supported by PRS for Music, will explore the latest developments in AI and music, and how […]
In March 2021 when the UK government had just published the roadmap that would take us out of the third national Covid-19 lockdown, The Ivors Academy and Musicians’ Union expanded their umbrella Keep Music Alive campaign beyond streaming and into the world of media composition. The Composers Against Buyouts Campaign was launched with the ultimate […]
On 31st March 2021 the Ivors Academy and Musicians’ Union launched #ComposersAgainstBuyouts – a campaign to raise awareness around buyout deals in audio-visual commissioning, and how these deals impact composers and the wider industry. A buyout deal is where the upfront fee is used to acquire rights and royalty revenue associated with the music. The […]
PRS’s letter of direction provides a way for rights holders to direct revenues from royalties to a third party only in exceptional circumstances. With offices in London and LA, Moonbug creates and publishes programmes and podcasts for children. In response to the concerns raised by members PRS for Music has stated: “PRS has always defended […]
Following our campaigning the Competition & Markets Authority have launched a market study into streaming and want to hear from songwriters and composers about the study’s statement of scope by 17th February. It will look at competition between music companies, between music services, and agreements and inter-relationships between music companies and streaming services. It will […]
Musicians, artists and performers across the UK will continue the campaign to fix streaming despite Kevin Brennan MP’s Copyright (Rights And Remuneration Of Musicians) Private Member’s Bill not progressing. The reforms included in Kevin Brennan MP’s Copyright (Rights And Remuneration Of Musicians) Private Member’s Bill would have followed-up on the key recommendations made by the […]
This article was jointly produced between MU Deputy General Secretary Naomi Pohl and Ivors Academy CEO Graham Davies. At the start of the Covid-19 crisis, when musicians and songwriters lost so much work and over 20,000 faced immediate financial hardship, it became clear that streaming royalties were insufficient and not playing their part in shoring […]
Over 2,000 songwriters and artists have signed an open letter to all record labels, calling for writers to be paid a minimum daily allowance of £75 / $120 to each songwriter working with an artist to cover expenses and give writers at least four points on the master from the label share. The letter is […]
In a letter to the Prime Minister an incredible list of music makers including Annie Lennox OBE, Paloma Faith, Chris Martin, Paul McCartney, Rebecca Ferguson, Bob Geldof, Boy George, Noel Gallagher and Kate Bush CBE, have written “on behalf of today’s generation of artists, musicians and songwriters here in the UK”. In an unprecedented show […]
The Ivors Academy and Musicians’ Union have launched a new campaign, Composers Against Buyouts, to oppose unethical business practices that damage media composers’ rights, earnings and careers. Composers for TV, film and advertising are increasingly being asked to sell their work for an upfront fee, a buyout, which means they lose out on royalties over […]
AS COMPOSERS WE ASSERT THAT Copyright rests with the author. This is enshrined in copyright law and is the moral starting point of every negotiation. Music creates unique emotional connections and financial value in an audiovisual production. Composers should receive a fair share of the value they create. Only composers should decide how much of […]
At the latest Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) hearing into the economics of music streaming today, Minister of State for Digital and Culture Caroline Dinenage supported a referral of music streaming to the Competition and Markets Authority, one of the key asks of the #FixStreaming campaign. A position welcomed by both The […]
Supporters include MNEK, Amy Wadge, Ross Golan, Fred Gibson, Mikkel Eriksen of Stargate, Paloma Faith, Savan Kotecha, Jess Glynne, Natalie Hemby, Jimmy Hogarth, Liam Howe, Giorgio Moroder, Digital Farm Animals, Dan Bastille, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jin Jin, Plested, Ina Wroldsen, Tre Jean-Marie, Rick Nowels, Tiffany Red, Iain James, Dyo and Jessica Agombar. 300 writers, along […]
The Committee of MPs quickly acknowledged how the live sector being closed for almost a year has presented an enormous problem for musicians. However, in keeping with the artists who had given evidence at earlier hearings, the organisations’ leaders emphasised how recorded music should also provide an acceptable and equitable income stream for musicians, writers […]
Despite the challenges we face I would like to wish you a happy new year. I know that this is not the start to 2021 that we all hoped for, and we are facing greater restrictions and challenges than we expected, but the new year also brings hope. We are committed to supporting you and […]
The Ivors Academy has recommended that the UK Government: Introduce regulation of the Major Music Intermediaries – international corporate groups comprising both labels and publishing with revenues above 5% of world markets – with a code of conduct to create parity with how Collective Management Organisations are regulated. Implement a package of copyright reform, based […]
A poll by The Ivors Academy and Musicians’ Union has exposed the shockingly inadequate earnings the majority of music creators currently receive from streaming. The findings come ahead of the second meeting of the DCMS Select Committee inquiry into the economics of music streaming, on Tuesday 8 December. The survey of the organisations’ members shows […]
