Over the past few years, there has been much debate over the ethics of streaming, as artists are not entitled to a level of royalties in the same way as with traditionally aired music. The #brokenrecord movement, begun by Tom Gray in May, campaigned for this to be made fairer for artists. This was an issue that has been growing for years but became particularly prominent during the coronavirus crisis because musicians were already losing income from the lack of live shows.

In an interview published in Music Ally explaining the initiative, Gray said that “This is Covid-19. Live [income] has gone, PRO money is going to dry up shortly. Whatever anger you think there is in the industry now towards streaming, imagine it in six months’ time when the last of the money that’s in touring musicians’ bank accounts has gone, and when their PRS and PPL cheques go through the floor.” His movement prompted the government to start an inquiry into the issue.

In recent days, after a six-month enquiry into the effects of streaming into the music industry, some MPs have agreed that a reset of fees is necessary in order to ensure fairness for musicians. Several studies have shown that The MP Julian Knight has said that “While streaming has brought significant profits to the recorded music industry, the talent behind it – performers, songwriters and composers – are losing out.”

As reported by the BBC, other recommendations made by the study include:

• Musicians and songwriters should be allowed to reclaim the rights to their work from labels after a set period of time.
• Artists should be given the right to adjust their contract if their work is successful beyond the remuneration they received.
• The government should explore ways to ensure songwriters, who receive minimal streaming royalties, can have sustainable careers.
• Curators who make playlists on services like Spotify and Apple Music should adhere to a “code of conduct” to avoid bribes and favouritism.
• The government should require publishers and royalty societies to inform artists about how much money is flowing through the system.

Gray said he was “overjoyed” by the results of the inquiry, and said that “It feels like a massive vindication…they’ve really come to the same conclusions that we’ve been saying for a very long time.”