Press release: European Parliament adopts its Report on the Music Streaming Market
GESAC applauds the strong commitment of the EP to address creators’ concerns and welcomes the call for an EU legislation to ensure the transparency of and cultural diversity on all music streaming platforms.
Strasbourg, 17 January 2024 – Today, the European Parliament plenary adopted the initiative report of MEP Ibán García del Blanco on “Cultural diversity and the conditions for authors in the European music streaming market” with an overwhelming majority. The report acknowledges the significant problems faced by creators and suggests Union-level initiatives to set the ground for a fairer and more sustainable ecosystem in this ever-growing market.
Despite the massive consumption of music online, the availability of more than 100 million tracks on streaming platforms and the exponential growth of music streaming on pure-play, social media or user-uploaded content platforms, the market leads to precariousness for most of the authors and composers instead of providing them with fair remuneration through which to build a sustainable career. The report highlights the current imbalances in revenue allocation, the insufficient growth of the overall revenue pie, fraudulent and unfair practices in the market that disfavour creators, and the imminent threat to cultural diversity deriving from harmful streaming manipulation practices and the proliferation of AI-generated content. The report suggests initiatives at Union level, calling on the Commission to propose legal provisions to ensure the transparency of the algorithms and content recommendation systems of streaming platforms, as well as positive obligations to assess and ensure the visibility and discoverability of European works.
GESAC President Gernot Graninger said: “By adopting the report on the Music Streaming Market the European Parliament sends a strong signal of recognition and understanding of the needs of creators. The issue of fair remuneration in the streaming market needs to be resolved – not only for the benefit of the creators but also for culture to remain a significant driver of the European economy.”
GESAC General Manager Véronique Desbrosses said: “We congratulate the Rapporteur MEP Ibán García del Blanco for concluding this highly anticipated report with great success, and warmly thank all the MEPs who worked on the file and adopted it with a vast majority. The European Parliament clearly stands on the side of authors by showing its support to their legitimate request for fairness. The music streaming market needs to properly reward those who are at the core of its success and reach the high standards of cultural diversity that Europe expects. It is now the time for action at Union level and we count on the European Commission to take the next step and table the needed legislative proposals. ”
More on music streaming in the policy section here