This👇👏.
Its clearly time for regulation of internet platforms, self-regulation has failed.
“When you mark your own homework, you'll always pass the test”.- Andrew Orlowski
No area of societal interaction should be beyond the moral wisdom of human millennia: Democratic Law.
Taoiseach Simon Harris says the era of self regulation by social media companies is over
He’s prepared to meet Elon Musk and other social media company execs to discuss Irish government plans for financial sanctions and personal liabilities for failing to remove harmful content
BBC plays on average around 20k different pieces of music every year. Where commercial radio plays on average around 5k. Accordingly, narrowing of choice & opportunity would not be to the Music ecosystems benefit. BBC’s UK’s greatest ambassador.
Here’s why Music Creators should champion the
#BBC
.
In past 5 yrs
@BBC6Music
alone played c.100k different tracks.
In contrast most commercial radio stations played less than 10k!
BBC supports a broad spectrum of Art....commercialism doesnt.
#KeepMusicAlive
#FixStreaming
This 👇is true
@alkapranos
. A major label A&R friend recently called me , close to tears & considering leaving the profession, having just sat through a 6 hour A&R meeting where they agreed to sign 3 acts based on social stats alone…..without listening to a note of their music.
Labels now often sign musicians based on their current statistics, rather than their potential: how well they perform on social media, rather than a stage or studio. How many likes they have amassed, rather than whether they like their music.
My old band’s album in the Top 10 album charts. So many thanks to everyone who bought
@LongpigsBand
vinyl re-issue from
@DemonMusicGroup
. Top 10 album, on vinyl alone. Stunned.
The Gods are with us.....
Paul McCartney and Chris Martin lead 150 artists demanding reform to music streaming laws
Thank you from the bottom of my art to all who signed & for protecting the future of British music makers.
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
Pretty disgraceful fuzzy logic posturing by
@spotify
in pulling out of Uruguay , (using it as a global lobbying laboratory), because new regulation expects them to pay Equitable Remuneration to musicians, which Spotify say would make their business ‘untenable’ .
Err! Surely
“The reality is that the Britain truly does not need more 20,000+ capacity arenas, it needs an unwavering amount of support for the venues that are formative to each town and city’s night life and gig culture throughout Britain.” -
@godisinthetv
The sublime power of Music is confirmed as Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s players & singers send the first shivers down the coronation’s spine.
Grateful this King understands the value of art, even if, alas, his Government doesn’t.
God Save the Sing.
Bravo
@FourTet
, fighting on behalf of all artists against unfair and outdated recording contracts, label ownership of artists…..and winning ( so far).
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
Ha,ha, ha!
Only 43K ‘top tier’ artists ( in the world) make a living from
@Spotify
.
90% of streams are theirs.
Avge ‘top tier’ earn $90k p.a.
Major’s cut c.80%.
So the top 43k artists make c$18k.
Shared by band?
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
Some in the Music Industry seem to consider Songwriting as a byproduct of the Music Industry.
But just to clarify, its actually the other way round.
It all begins with a song…..well, actually it all begins with a songwriter ( To Paraphrase Tim Ingham
@MBW
)
“in the last year 1,800 artists achieved more than 10m streams”
@bpi_music
Geoff Taylor.
Hallelujah !
10m x 0.004= $40k
Major Labels 80%=$32k
Artist 20%= $8k
Manager 20%= $1600
Artist=$6400
4 man band=$1600 each
$ to £= £1167 each
#FixStreaming
This is very hard news for Music Creators.
@KevinBrennanMP
has been thee greatest friend ( as well as a great friend to many of us) to Music, the Arts & all its makers. We could not hope for a better champion in Parliament. That’s because he has skin in the game. Kevin is a Music
I’m announcing my decision to stand down as Cardiff West MP after 23 years - thank you to local Labour members and constituents for your friendship and support
Just got my
@PRSforMusic
royalties.
After a year of lockdown it’s a life-saver.
Plz folks, remember PRS isn’t a tax collector, its a rights collective. More a soup-kitchen for writers & composers who only survive on use of our tunes in public.
The songs we sing
@IvorsAcademy
Music isn’t a business, its an ecosystem.
From lullaby to stadium, music’s a symbiotic expression of human community.
Unless we nourish every part ( education, emerging acts) the whole environment is at risk.
Music’s a jungle, not a jingle.
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
Twitter Music Creators, I need one successful, one mid tier & one emerging Music artist who’d be willing to divulge streaming income to a reputable national newspaper?
I know so many who won’t speak due to fear of retaliation.
Like a protection racket in reverse?
#BrokenRecord
Just finished 1000 of these.
So excited to hear it properly on vinyl.
Huge thx
@DemonMusicGroup
.
#MobileHome
@LongpigsBand
... i.e. Our ” childhood sloping off”
Honoured by all who hear it & what we meant.
“Aw shucks , aw shucks” XX
Fully support
@RebeccaFMusic
call for oversight & reform.
Some’ll decry naivety & make excuses, saying ‘the Music Business has always been this way”.
So? Factory conditions were also grossly exploitative til regulated.
Music’s story isn’t its fate.
#BrokenRecord
But who licensed the 20k tracks used to train
@Meta
“MusicGen”, and were the composers and performers consulted for consent?
“ generative AI… is 100% copy leading to 100% replacement. And it’s absolutely commercial.”
—Katherine Forrest
Heartfelt congratulations to my dear friend & colleague
@MrTomGray
on election as new Chair of
@IvorsAcademy
.
I’m very excited to work beside Tom & our wonderful newly diverse Board toward a safer, more balanced 21st century for Music.
Thank u 4 all ur life-affirming messages 🙏.
But if I’ve learn’t one skill as a songwriter…
It’s to see when a song is ready to be sung …
…by someone else’s voice.
Then try to write a better one…..
Onward.
#FixStreaming
RIP Malcolm Dunbar, my A&R, he was one of a kind & one of many kinds of kindness. An outsider & an insider..whose passion & power lay in inspiration over imitation, instinct over hyperlink, heart over head. Our business's heart beats fainter without him.
Dear people who loved ( or liked even) our band. I’m thrilled & grateful that
@DemonMusicGroup
have pressed this record on vinyl. Hoping it reaches you, cracks, crackles , hiss & all 🙏.
@LongpigsBand
🚨FIRST TIME ON VINYL🚨
Released this Friday 29th October...
@LongpigsBand
Mobile Home
...their 1999 second album, featuring
@CrispinHunt
and
@RichardHawley
, will be available from 101 on limited edition **indies exclusive** 180g clear vinyl with an art print signed by Crispin
Interesting 🧵on Record Labels pressuring artists to self-promote on Tok-Tok 👇
Remind me - if asking ppl to self-promote on Tok-Tok is main marketing ploy ,why’re labels still taking c.80% - again?
If ppl r products, ppl need protection.
#FixStreaming
@NadineDorries
@CMAgovUK
“the amount we pay for streaming....: Stop saying it’s price-sensitive; Kids pay £8 for a skin in Fortnight and we can’t ask for £12.50 for the entirety of all recorded music? Give me a break.” Read this interview, with
@MrTomGray
.
It’s time Creators shared proportionately in the value of our work.
@Spotify
valued at over $50,000,000,000.
That’s what a slice of Music Creators recordings are truly worth.
Why are we still in need of charity?
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
Friends in Brighton Pavilion please vote for
@MrTomGray
&
@UKLabour
. Friends in Mid Sussex please vote for
@DaveRowntree
&
@UKLabour
. Change needs to come for the UK and for Music. Having two dedicated & passionate musicians in Parliament will amplify Music & culture’s voice.
Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write - BBC News
“artists will go on to collect revenue from touring, merchandise & brand partnerships,songwriters have only their publishing revenue as a means of income".
@raye
Hi Raye, Thank you for speaking out on behalf of other creators who are incarcerated within inequitable recording contracts. Please DM me,
@IvorsAcademy
would like to discuss your situation and put our collective force behind you to help remedy.
My immense thanks to all who gave me their support & vote
@PRSforMusic
. It’s an honour, a responsibility & a privilege to have your mandate to fight for the interests of songwriters & composers in our journey to a better, fairer, more proportionate music business . On it now ✊
The Music Biz likes to think our business is exceptional.
Executives have a belittling fondness of saying:‘ But you need to fully understand how the music business works’.
The correct response is:’No. You need to fully understand that it doesn’t’.
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
Amazing
#Brits
but most amazingly the awesome
@raye
just called 4 songwriters to get % master profits 👏❤️ Cos w/o songs NONE of this exists. Songs aren’t a byproduct of music biz, music biz is a byproduct of songs & writers are struggling . 🙏
@YouTube
4 invite.
This practice has to cease.
At every level of the Music Industry musicians revenue is degraded.
The fairy-tale that *all the money’s in gigs ’n T-shirts* is yet another deceit — a mirage to cover-up systematic exploitation of the talent that drives the music economy.
Some thoughts about venues charging a commission on sales of band merchandise… sometimes up to 25%.
Well done
@Tim_Burgess
for starting this conversation. I have been battling this for many years now and fully support a change to this practise.
This is important. Let’s dispel the myth that all the money is in live. The primary use of our work, recordings, should be the primary revenue.
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
Bravo
@RIAA
: US Labels Sue AI Suno & Udio.
As
@neilturkewitz
says “ Artists are not contensting technology, they’re contesting exploitation”.
AI’s 100% copy, 100% replacement & 100% commercial.
It is not fair use. It’s theft.
“France's …record labels & performers/musicians have unanimously agreed to a landmark accord [so] all performers will receive a minimum remuneration [from] streaming.”
France leading on
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
@NadineDorries
@DCMS
“Kelly’s conviction met a muted response in the music industry, with scant public commentary by top artists and crickets among the companies that have released his music and continue to host it online.” ?
“The top 7 artists on Spotify each earn around $0.5m per year from streaming on the service, while Spotify royalties pay the bottom 99 percent of artists an average of $25 annually.” Meanwhile the majors make $2.5m per hour.
#BrokenRecord
#FixStreaming
My artfelt thx 2 all artists, songwriters, performers & producers who joined supportive MP’s today to sing for our (
#FixStreaming
) supper, what fun. We made £3 busking in 5 mins, more than we we’d make from thousands of streams. As they say, all the money’s in live! Ha ha! Err!
Shocking!
@UMG
CEO made more money from Streaming & Sales than EVERY British Songwriter combined.
This imbalance is just plain wrong. Nobody’s against success being rewarded, but not if that success is at the expense of those who create the value.
I’m standing down
@PPLUK
Performer Director elections this November.
3 terms is enuff on any board. Its been an honour.
I hope it’ll allow a window 4 diversity/meaningful change.
Musicians must always fight for our Rights.
Plz stand for election.
#BlackLivesMatterUK
THIS is Disgraceful.
Songs are the primary driver of streaming $uccess.
Both platforms & labels can afford an accommodation to sustain their sole currency: Songs.
Without songwriters work, NO work in Music would exist.
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
.
Yes
@DavidGArnold
,
@IvorsAcademy
fellow: “streaming.. is inequitable.. we are on a bit of a precipice. It's almost impossible as a musician to make money. [we risk musicians only ] from a moneyed background... a terrible waste of potential".
Major Labels
@bpi_music
( emptily) threaten to leave the UK….. Bring it on!
A new fairer , thriving Biz will quickly emerge.
British Music isn’t world beating cos the Majors invest here,…the majors invest here because our Music is world beating.
Calling ALL artists, songwriters, performers , producers.
This Wednesday 24th, at 11.30 am.
Join me & other creators in front of Big Ben ( Westminster Tube), to sing too, support & meet music loving MP’s .
To applaud
@KevinBrennanMP
’s historic
#FixStreaming
Bill.
C’mon!✊
Ah! Look what just arrived in the post.
Thanks
@DemonMusicGroup
Dunno why, but Vinyl is such a meaningful way to deliver Music.
Maybe when music takes space, not comes from it, its presence is more present?
Folks, please show
@SharonHodgsonMP
some real appreciation for this 👇success. Sharon has campaigned for many years to correct ticket touting in all its forms. We in Music and all who love it owe her.
After nearly 15 years leading this campaign, I am thrilled that the Labour Party has shown that it is the party of the cultural industries 🌹
The only way to protect artists and put fans first is by capping secondary ticketing and allowing our live events industry to flourish🎟️
Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor says streaming has “mortally wounded” many artists: “It’s great if you’re Drake, it’s not great if you’re Grizzly Bear. We’ve had enough time for the whole ‘All the boats rise’ argument to see they don’t all rise"
ESSENTIAL READ FOR EVERYONE WHO LOVES ,MAKES OR SELLS MUSIC : Thanks to the aptly named
@guardian
for your truth. Every word here exposes endemic failures in our
#BrokenRecord
Business. Let’s
#FixStreaming
.
@IvorsAcademy
Plz RT.
Crushing a piano, trumpet & guitar evokes the same primal horrific sacrilege as watching books burn.
Surprisingly tone-deaf from Apple, who’ve previously enabled & championed creativity.
But I imagine they’ll see how out of tune this is once they turn off the autotune.
Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created, the most advanced display we’ve ever produced, with the incredible power of the M4 chip. Just imagine all the things it’ll be used to create.
Aw! Huge thx
@radioleary
@BBCRadio2
for playing ‘On & On’
@LongpigsBand
as ‘Valentines break up’ tune… Dunno why songs sound so great on the Radio, maybe it’s all of us in the same moment or maybe just big, crunchy compression, maybe both? 🙏
The final hearing of
@CommonsDCMS
was historic. There is a fairer future for music and this was the beginning . Thank you to all
@CommonsDCMS
from all your friends
@IvorsAcademy
.
Shocking & shameful report on racism in the Music Industry.
We in Music need to face facts: It’s hard to think of a more prominent example of an industry built on exploiting black culture than Music.
It must not continue.
A top-line songwriter would need about 100,000 streams a day to cover his/her travel & subsistence costs to a songwriting session. (c,£20). Major Labels make $20,000,000 in the same time. Time to
#FixStreaming
?
#BrokenRecord
We’re truly honoured, privileged & blessed to announce
@KateBushMusic
as 20th Fellow of
@IvorsAcademy
.
Kate’s immortal genius inspires & shapes all that came after her.
Our Fellows endorsement underlines
@IvorsAcademy
work to transform & inspire the lives of music creators.
“There was no
#MeToo
moment in the music industry; there’s been no internal clean-up. I’ve heard from many women, but none of them want to come forward. Many of them are under nondisclosure agreements [NDAs].”
Is Music to face its reckoning?
Good.
Music ppl , as lockdown returns & gigs are impossible it’s critical we see fair return$ from Streaming.
Use this time , use
@IvorsAcademy
/
@WeAreTheMU
guidelines 👇 .
Submit your voice to
@CommonsDCMS
enquiry on Streaming.
#FixStreaming
Jesus
@Spotify
ad is insulting. Celebrating & encouraging sense of entitlement to free music. Music costs time, devotion , skill, a will to communicate harmony & inve$tment to create. 1 month free is a good offer if it encourages premium users.. but this message is crassly mixed.
Here’s
@Spotify
’s new tone-deaf ad campaign. Keep in mind that it takes 380,000 streams a month on
@Spotify
for an artist to earn minimum wage. Meanwhile, the average
@Spotify
employee earns $14,000 a month. Nobody's paying? We musicians are, with our lives.
#IRespectMusic
As we welcome small venues re-opening with limited capacity of c.30%, musicians may have to adapt our performances accordingly. I.e. Play sets tailored for listening & intimacy rather than impact & mosh pits. We will get through this, it might bring audiences closer to the music.
” I have friends who are famous rock stars who struggle financially. Any other job makes more money than being in a band. Even if you’re working full-time at McDonald’s, you’re gonna make more money than a lot of my peers.”
“label bosses told
@CommonsDCMS
..that it may be too complicated ..to shift to [user-centric] but
@SoundCloud
said that its computing calculations took just 20 min for user-centric, compared with 23 hours for the pooled model.” Wow!
Here it is . Make ur own mind up. I believe it delivers historic, long overdue reforms to
#FixStreaming
& update an outdated
#BrokenRecord
biz so it provides for the providers of our Music economy ( Music makers) fairly. Bravo
@KevinBrennanMP
!
Music friends & fans!
Please help correct people who keep saying that "all music's money is in live" because it's not entirely true unless you're playing arenas. This myth gives people a guilt-free excuse to stream music while knowing that the artists receive very little.
If
.
@nadineshah
says she’s not playing
@glastonbury
as it’s “too expensive”
"You can justify the costs (like being on telly and having a wider reach) then sometimes you take the hit. Otherwise no, we’ve all bills to pay"
Btw..Kindly biz insider just warned me ‘dark forces are out to get me’ in retribution for my thoughts 👇on imbalance of Music exec pay.
If its in the post, it’s a demonstration of
#BrokenRecord
.
Ah! The joys of defending fairness.
@CommonsDCMS
@EstherMcVey1
@JoStevensLabour
Universal Music Group boss Lucian Grainge is set to earn more in 2021 than all songwriters did combined from streams & sales of their music in the UK in 2019.
"There’s only one word for it – obscene"
@crispinhunt
🔄 Share this post if you agree
(1/2)
The world needs
@freshnet
voice now as ever. Tom’s influence, humanity and advocacy is as inspirational as it is influential. Tom’s friendship and work and support for
@IvorsAcademy
mission will remain and grow. Looking forward to enabling that voice to be always raised.
My Saturday night show on
@BBC6Music
will be ending this month. Join me for 2 special farewell shows tonight & next Saturday from 9pm. I'll still be curating
#NP6Music
at 6pm Sundays & the
@bbcintroducing
Mixtape at 4am Mondays. Also a one-off
#6MusicFestival
special on 27/3
UK’s 2020 Music streaming revenue up 15.5% to £1.21bn.
2020 Global Streaming value c.£25B.
UK Creators responsible for 1 in 10 global streams.
So why do UK Creators need to beg for charity to survive?
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
@CommonsDCMS
Ahem!
@Spotify
ex-director of research :“artists get paid low, but the blame is on the labels..streaming is a big chunk of global music revenues..artists still only get 10-15% of the revenue & the labels keep the rest.”
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
Seriously Artists/Songwriters, keep an eye on
@SonStreamLtd
, it appears they paid £155.10 for 1 weeks worth of streams , where
@Spotify
would’ve paid £7.44. Interesting pay per stream model...early days yet but interesting results so far.
#FixStreaming
#BrokenRecord
Please Register to vote 👇 - .
It takes 15 mins.
You need your National Insurance number.
THE DEADLINE IS 18TH JUNE.
THAT’S ONE WEEK.
Please retweet.
There are 8m people who aren’t registered or are incorrectly registered.
Music’s story is not its fate.
Music’s Gods agree.
Its time to reform the music industry and put Music’s value back in the hands of the Music makers who drive it.
I find it no surprise
@RitaOra
has the sense to sign with
@BMG
, thus keeping her master rights.
BMG’s reformist ‘creator service attitude’ is streets ahead of the rest in the ‘Music Fairness Arms Race’. Bravo to both.
#FixStreaming
Nadine Shah vows to run for PPL chair after Crispin Hunt steps down. This might be the most positive thing the
@NME
has ever said about me. G’wan
@nadineshah
Spotify to reportedly sponsor Barcelona. $380m over 3 years. Perhaps they might consider reviewing their appeal against CRB songwriter raise first as money appears not to be such a problem?
#FixStreaming
Barcelona is reportedly signing two new sponsorship deals worth ~$490 million over 5 years, per
@Shlugassi
.
• Spotify will pay ~$380M over 5 years
• Polkadot will pay ~$110M over 5 years
That's nearly $100 million in annual revenue.
Insane numbers 🤯