Songwriters vs. the recording industry: the use and abuse of statistics in UK streaming debates

Article


Osborne, R. 2023. Songwriters vs. the recording industry: the use and abuse of statistics in UK streaming debates. Popular Music. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143023000508
TypeArticle
TitleSongwriters vs. the recording industry: the use and abuse of statistics in UK streaming debates
AuthorsOsborne, R.
Abstract

In Britain, the Select Committee of the government department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has investigated the economics of streaming and recommended that the share of revenues for record companies should decrease so that songwriters can earn more. This article addresses lobbying activity that has resulted from this recommendation. To support their causes, songwriter representatives and record company organisations have made incorrect or misleading use of data from the report Music Creators’ Earnings in the Digital Age. This article looks at the impact of these uses and provides corrections and alternatives to the statistics that have been employed. It also looks at the importance of the issues that have been raised. In conclusion, it addresses aspects of record company accounting that will need to be considered if an increase for songwriters is to be made at their expense.

KeywordsStreaming; Lobbying; Songwriters; Record Companies; Statistics
Sustainable Development Goals8 Decent work and economic growth
Middlesex University ThemeCreativity, Culture & Enterprise
Research GroupMusic group
PublisherCambridge University Press
JournalPopular Music
ISSN0261-1430
Electronic1474-0095
Publication dates
Print15 Dec 2023
Publication process dates
Accepted27 Oct 2023
Deposited14 Feb 2024
Output statusPublished
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Copyright Statement

Popular Music (2023). © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),
which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143023000508
Web of Science identifierWOS:001125078300001
LanguageEnglish
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