The BPI today announces a set of principles for UK labels to support legacy artists, songwriters, and session musicians.

The principles deliver a package of measures, unique to the UK, developed in consultation with the government-convened Creator Remuneration Working Group (CRWG), and represent the culmination of five years of rigorous analysis and debate in response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Report on The Economics of Music Streaming. 

The British recorded music industry – the third largest in the world and the second largest for exports - is truly world-leading.  As part of the wider creative industries, music has been prioritised for growth in the government’s industrial strategy – growth driven by brilliant UK musical talent and the long-term investment and innovation provided by labels.

While many more artists are succeeding and building a career in music now compared to the pre-streaming era, a number of specific creator cohorts were identified during the course of the CRWG discussions as needing further support, particularly in the highly competitive global streaming landscape.

The package announced today will be recommended by the BPI to all UK labels as a framework to:

1. Help legacy artists benefit from the opportunities of music streaming by disregarding pre-2000 unrecouped advances, providing bespoke marketing tools and support to improve engagement on streaming services, and offering greater clarity on the process of contract renegotiation in appropriate cases. 

2. Support new and emerging songwriter talent by paying per diems and/or expenses when inviting them to label-hosted song writing sessions. 

3. Increase minimum session musician rates through a new agreement between the BPI and the Musicians’ Union.

The UK divisions of the three major label groups, Sony Music Entertainment UK, Universal Music UK and Warner Music UK, have committed to implementing the principles and will be communicating their own individual company programmes to benefit the legacy artists, songwriters and musicians they work with. The major company programmes alone represent an investment of tens of millions of pounds into the UK music industry by 2030. 

The BPI also recommends the package to its 500+ independent label members who are encouraged to introduce similar targeted support in a manner that is proportionate and fitting with the specifics of their businesses.

Sophie Jones, BPI’s Chief Strategy Officer said: 

“After five years of detailed scrutiny and analysis, we are pleased to put in place these creator remuneration principles for UK labels in response to specific concerns identified in the UK’s streaming debate. 

“Many more artists are succeeding in the era of streaming than ever before - and we are confident that these targeted measures will lead to positive and sustainable outcomes and support for legacy artists, songwriters and session musicians, and ensure that our members’ significant ongoing investment into the development of British talent and the growth of our world leading UK music industry will be to the benefit of all. 

“This has been a collaborative process and we are grateful to our members and fellow trade organisations for their expertise and to Minister Chris Bryant and the DCMS officials for their stewardship of this process.”

More information on the background of the Creator Remuneration Working Group can be found on the government webpage here.

 

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Principles:

A NEW DEAL for legacy artists, songwriters and session musicians in the modern music streaming economy. 

 

PRINCIPLE 1 : Royalties & Commercial Support for Legacy Artists

The BPI recommends all UK labels provide bespoke financial support for legacy artists designed to improve their streaming outcomes by:

  • Disregarding unrecouped advances on contracts signed before 1 January 2000 for artists who have not received additional advances since that date and paying royalties to legacy artists at their contractual royalty rate.
  • And putting in place company initiatives that either: roll forward the cut-off dates for these policies on an annual basis.

Or

  • provide a programme of bespoke support to revitalise legacy catalogues with the aim to generate ongoing income for artists. Participants will receive support which may include but is not limited to digitisation of deep catalogues, catalogue & artist marketing initiatives & spend and non-recoupable grants/funding.

 

PRINCIPLE 2 : Technical & Marketing Support for Legacy Artists

The BPI recommends all UK labels provide bespoke support for legacy artists designed to improve their streaming outcomes by:

  • Digitalising previously unexploited works from legacy artists’ deeper catalogues that are artistically and commercially viable so they can be distributed on DSPs. 
  • Providing bespoke marketing and administrative support so legacy artists can cultivate a modern-day audience with a focus on social platforms
  • Advising legacy artists on how to reactivate their full catalogues.
  • Reserving marketing budget and other funding specifically for legacy artists if needed.

 

PRINCIPLE 3 : Contract Renegotiation for Legacy Artists

The BPI recommends all UK labels provide bespoke support for legacy artists designed to improve their streaming outcomes by:

  • Responding meaningfully to initial queries and requests to renegotiate legacy contracts within 60 days from the date of receipt, although the actual renegotiations may take longer.
  • Advising legacy artists who are seeking to renegotiate legacy contracts on key elements, including clear information on who to contact and factors the label may consider during a negotiation.
  • Acting reasonably and in good faith in response to requests to renegotiate.
  • Taking a bespoke approach to each individual contract renegotiation and in coming to a determination consider holistically all elements of the contract and the context of the commercial history between the artist and the label. By way of example this may include:
    • The label’s investment to date in the artist’s career including by way of personal advances, recording costs, marketing and promotional support and tour support;
    • The nature of the artist’s musical genre (e.g. classical or pop)
    • The level of sales of the artist’s recordings
    • The artist’s existing royalty rates
    • The artist’s unrecouped balance (if any)
  • If a renegotiation is appropriate then the outcomes of such a renegotiation may include some of the following:
    • For artists whose royalty accounts remain unrecouped, disregarding some (or all) of any unrecouped balance or paying through a proportion of the artist’s royalties without regard to any unrecouped balance
    • Adjusting artists’ royalty rates on some formats and/or in some territories
    • The artist and label agreeing to new product and/or promotional commitments
  • Where an artist considers that a label has not engaged meaningfully in responding to a request to renegotiate within the 60 day timeframe, they should contact their most relevant trade organisation to escalate further dialogue with the label in question.

 

PRINCIPLE 4 : Supporting New and Emerging Songwriters

The BPI recommends all UK labels ensure emerging songwriters are not out of pocket when invited by a label to attend a songwriter session or camp, by acting in accordance with the following:

  • UK labels should create and communicate a clear policy to provide at least one of the following means of supporting songwriters on a case-by-case basis when they participate in a label hosted session:
    • Reimbursing a songwriter’s reasonable expenses and/or
    • Providing songwriters with a fixed per diem payment and/or
    • Providing other forms of financial support to upcoming songwriters

Labels should be transparent with featured artists as to whether the support provided to songwriters under this principle is a recoupable recording cost.

 

PRINCIPLE 5 : Increasing Minimum Session Fees for Pop and Classical Session Musicians

  • Labels should pay session musicians who perform on recordings upfront fees of at least the minimum rates set by the most recent agreement between the BPI and the Musicians’ Union (MU)*.
  • BPI commits to continue monitoring trends and fluctuations in combined broadcasting and public performance revenues and reviewing the BPI/MU Agreement accordingly.

* The new BPI/MU Agreement increases session fees by 40% for pop and 15% for classical sessions.