Speaking about Wednesday’s new appointment, Academy CEO Graham Davies has said:
“On behalf of The Ivors Academy I would like to congratulate Rt Hon Nicky Morgan on her new appointment of Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport this week. We welcome Nicky’s extensive background in Education and Equalities, and look forward to working closely with her across our key policy aims, as we continue to safeguard the value of creators’ rights and take action to secure our talent pipeline.”
The Academy now calls on the new government to act on our policy agenda. In a recent article for Music Week, we ask for the government’s support as follows:
Brexit is the most pressing issue for the government. Europe is the biggest market for our members’ music currently and the UK is a centre of excellence for music composition and songwriting that relies on freedom of movement of creators from Europe and the rest of the world. We ask the government to remove barriers of movement and trade to support its creative economy.
Music education is in crisis. If the UK’s music industry is to continue to lead the world, we must act to make careers in music more accessible and rewarding. We ask the government to bring music along with other creative subjects back into schools and invest in music education.
We ask the government to help creators obtain a commensurate share of revenues that reflect their contribution to the value created. Music creators do not fairly share in the revenues being generated by their work online, music labels and artists take circa 80% of revenues, leaving publishers and creators to share in the rest. The economics of distributing music online are very different to the offline/CD world yet these old legacy models have been forced on creators online.
End coercive commissioning. Whether it is broadcasters and platforms demanding creators’ publishing rights, offering low commission fees, buyouts or songwriters being expected to work for the promise of future royalties, creators are increasingly facing coercive commissioning practices across the industry. We ask the government to help music creators establish codes of practice that enable the proper management and remuneration of creators’ rights.
We seek greater influence and representation of music creators across the industry to safeguard the value of rights and achieve a more balanced music economy. We ask the government to support us in removing barriers to equality and inclusion.
