The European Union proposes an overhaul of the music streaming industry to promote smaller artists and ensure underpaid performers are fairly compensated.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Wednesday adopted a resolution to address concerns about insufficient streaming royalties for artists and biased recommendation algorithms, stressing that no existing EU rules currently apply to music streaming services, despite this being the most Popular way to consume sound.
The proposal was made to ensure the accessibility of European musical works and avoid being overshadowed by the “staggering amount” of content that is constantly being added to streaming platforms such as Spotify. MEPs have also called for changes to outdated “pre-digital” royalties, pointing to schemes that force performers to accept little or no income in exchange for greater exposure. Quotas on European musical productions are being considered to help promote EU artists.
Streaming companies are also urged to disclose whether they use artificial intelligence to create the tracks they host, address “deepfake” music that imitates human artists without permission, and be transparent about their recommendation algorithms to prevent major record labels and popular artists from failing proportionally affected. Be preferred to smaller players in the industry and therefore get better compensation.
“Parliament is voicing the concerns of European creators, who are at the heart of the music streaming market,” rapporteur Iban García del Blanco said in an EU press release. “Cultural diversity and ensuring authors are recognized and fair remuneration have always been our top priority; that’s why we’re asking for rules that ensure the algorithms and recommendation tools used by music streaming services, as well as the use of artificial intelligence tools, are transparent and put European authors at the centre.”
Although MEPs overwhelmingly agree that these issues need to be addressed, the resolution itself is non-legislative. Rather, it is a plea to the European Commission to acknowledge the concerns and initiate legislation to improve the situation – which could take several years to come into effect even if the appeal is successful.
