The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) has criticised the deals made by record labels to allow their music to be streamed on streaming services such as Spotify, saying they generate only a small amount of revenue for artists.
BASCA chairman Patrick Rackow has also attacked the deals because he claims there is no method for it’s artists to discover what share of the publishing deals they are entitled to: “At the moment, the amounts of money that are actually being received are tiny,” he said. “That might be because there is no money there. But there is no clear trail that can be established so that the songwriter can trace back what they ought to have got. These things are behind a blanket of secrecy, and that is extremely worrying.
The danger is that these deals all become so secret that the mist that descends creates uncertainty, creates fear. That allied to the fact that the sums being paid through are very small creates a climate of suspicion. I think that harms Spotify, it harms the writers’ perception of Spotify and this is a service that they want to support.”
Rackow also said he believes deals agreed with sites such as Spotify are making it harder for musicians to make a good living out of the music industry: “It is pretty tough for the averagely successful songwriter to make a living. It is much tougher than it used to be. It’s hard to say that anyone has a right to make a living out of writing songs but if you write songs that people actually want to hear then I think that does give you some sort of right to get some remuneration back.”
BASCA currently has around 2,000 members, and organises the annual Ivor Novello songwriting awards.
Just Published:
Facebook Discussion