Long way to go again
to transparent and fair conditions for streaming

Den store utilfredshed er fremgår af rapporten Streams and Dreams Part 2, der dokumenterer kunstnernes indtægt og vilkår.  Rapporten viser også en lille forbedring for en mindre andel af kunstnerne, men omfanget af generel utilfredshed er bemærkelsesværdigt. Det samme er den lave organisationsprocenten blandt musikkens kunstnere i Europa.

In the EU, politicians are focusing on artists' income and conditions. Before the summer holidays, several parts of a new EU directive (articles 18-22) were finally introduced into Danish law. This will guarantee more transparency, fair payment and the right to renegotiate for the artist. But how the new law will work in practice is still unknown and largely up to the individual countries. That's why the IAO, an international umbrella organisation for music artists, asked their members across 19 EU countries, plus the UK, for an update on how things are progressing in terms of getting better conditions.

The survey is the largest to date and shows a slight improvement for artists, possibly due to the implementation of the new legislation. But most notable to the report is the massive and overwhelming dissatisfaction of music artists with the primary market platforms, namely digital streaming services:

"Subscription systems in music streaming are unfair, the complexity and constant changes in algorithms create confusion - and your ability to choose another system is non-existent," summarises one of the many statements from the artists themselves in the report.

Manglende klarhed over hvor indtægterne kommer fra

Den nye lovgivning indeholder et markant krav om transparens, der giver artister ret til detaljerede oplysninger mindst én gang om året om de indtægter, som distributører og pladeselskaber modtager. Oplysningerne bør dække alle anvendelser af indspilningen, herunder beløb, de har modtaget fra for eksempel: streamingplatforme og digitale downloads, sociale medieplatforme, fysisk salg, synkronisering og tredjepartslicenser.

Rapportens opgørelse viser, at 64,7 %, af artisterne ikke får den detaljerede information som de har ret til.

35,3 % svarer ja til at have modtaget detaljeret information og 64,7 % svarer nej.

Difficult negotiating position

The new directive offers better opportunities to increase payment or get more rights to their own music, but when artists are asked if they have made use of the legislators' backing to make more demands on their label, the answer is usually no. When it comes to the possibility to renegotiate payment, almost none of the artists have made use of the option.

Kun 4.1 % af artisterne har bedt om højere royalties eller bedre betaling.

Når det gælder sessionmusikerne, så mener 70 procent at deres betaling har været for lav. Lige under halvdelen af dem, nemlig 43,6 %, har slet ikke nogen skriftlig kontrakt med deres opdragsgiver.

71,3 % af session musikerne mener ikke at deres betaling er rimelig.

43,6 % af session musikerne har ikke en skriftlig kontrakt.

Rapportens forfattere konkluderer, at problemet i overvejende grad skyldes manglende viden og en svag forhandlingsposition. Rapporten Steams and Dreams Part 2 sætter også spot på, at de mest utilfredse er dem, der er signet til små selskaber, og dem som har gamle aftaler med majors, som de ikke kan komme ud af, og som er ’for dyre’ for artisten.

Collective bargaining may be a reason for better conditions in Denmark
Only 40 percent of artists who responded to the survey internationally are members of a trade union or professional organisation, and in some countries, such as Poland, new laws are on the way that will limit the right to collective bargaining.

"This study shows that too many music artists don't know enough about their rights and their business. Rights knowledge is complex for the individual, which is why it's important to be organised in a place where the community pays for impartial expertise that can advocate for them both collectively and individually," says Sara Indrio.

Photo caption: 38.6 % of European artists and musicians are members of a trade union.

At Dansk Artist Forbund you get help with individual contracts and a guarantee that someone is standing guard over rights and working conditions through framework agreements, consultation responses and collective agreements. Together with other artists' unions and organisations, you are represented in the collective management system, which has better tariffs for rights payments compared to other countries. Denmark's rights management system is characterised by joint contributions to collective pools, which also benefit new artists, non-profit projects and less commercial genres.

”Et globalt marked kræver internationale løsninger. Det er vigtigt at bevare de stærke fællesskaber og sikre mere internationalt samarbejde om organisering. I Danmark ser tallene jo væsentligt bedre ud generelt – bare ikke for et flertal af kunstnere i streamingøkonomien,” siger Sara Indrio.

Confusing business model and worrying implications

The report is supported by thousands of individual responses in the full survey. The responses are included both as data, graphs and as an extract of the open text responses. They show the greatest dissatisfaction with streaming platforms among artists and musicians who self-publish or publish on smaller labels. This is partly due to the platforms' payment model, which favours some music genres and consumption patterns over others, according to self-publishers.

”Jeg er særligt ramt af vidnesbyrdene der viser, at selv professionelle og etablerede artister og musikere kæmper en urimelig kamp for at overleve. Det er klart, at en karriere i musikken ikke er givet for nogen, men omfanget af mistrivsel og kamp for rimelig betaling og indsigt er bekymrende og desværre ikke overraskende. Politikerne bør være optagede af, hvordan den nye lovgivning trænger igennem, for det er i hvert fald hverken transparent eller fair, som det ser ud i dag. Faktisk anbefaler vi i Dansk Artist Forbund en uvildig kommission, der kan sætte spot på hvordan vi retter op på området, ” siger Sara Indrio, forperson i Dansk Artist Forbund og bestyrelsesmedlem i IAO.

The problems are also significant for artists who have agreements with smaller labels. "It's remarkable to see the many challenges of the streaming market that artists describe as cheating, underpayment, lack of information and underpayment," says Sara Indrio:

”Mange mindre selskaber kæmper også for at overleve, og samarbejdet mellem artist og selskab kan være frugtbart og vigtigt for karrieren. Men der tegner sig et billede af en slags ’vilde vesten’, i hvert fald i den internationale prisme. Og nok så vigtigt, vi må have gjort noget ved den alt for lave betaling pr. stream.”

Small improvements drown in the status quo
However, the Streams and Dreams report shows a slight increase in satisfaction in recent years - albeit by a few percentage points. The can være et resultat af positive effekter af den nye lovgivnings implementering. Tallene viser også, at mere end halvdelen af dem, der har modtaget royalty statements fra deres label, er tilfredse med data. Tilsammen indikerer det, at det er meget vigtigt at holde nøje øje med, hvordan det nye direktiv påvirker markedet, siger ordførende for den internationale organisation, IAO, der står bag undersøgelsen.

"For us, the result proves that countries need to be ambitious in implementing the directive and perhaps even more ambitious than they have been so far. The responsibility lies with legislators to set a clear line in ensuring fair payment and sustainable business models," says Nacho Garcia Vega, President of the ILO.