Copyright (Rights and Remuneration of Musicians, etc.) Bill

Simon Jupp Excerpts

Friday 3rd December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Simon Jupp (East Devon) (Con)]

Let me declare at the outset that I am a member of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee—like the hon. Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan), with whom I enjoy being on the Committee!

The British music industry is one of this country’s most successful exports. Our singers and bands have brought joy to the world with top-quality songs and albums that have inspired many generations. My parents and grandparents were lucky enough to witness the British invasion when, in the mid-1960s, rock and pop acts of the United Kingdom penetrated the shores of the United States and flooded the music industry. America gave the world rock and roll; we gave them as good as we got. Acts such as The Beatles, the Dave Clark Five, the Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, the Searchers, the Hollies, the Animals, the Kinks and so many more have dominated the charts for decades. Their songs still get played today and their enduring musical legacy lives on. A look at social media in the past week shows an almost teen fan obsession with the new Beatles documentary “Get Back”. Screened on Disney Plus, the eight-hour documentary covers the making of the Beatles’ 1970 album “Let It Be”. Critics and commentators gave it rave reviews, and many on social media said watching it made them feel very emotional—and no wonder, really: the Beatles were a uniquely British band with a backstory worthy of any Hollywood blockbuster.

Like most of us in this House and further afield, I love music. It has played a big part in my life, not just personally, but professionally. I have no musical talent to speak of, but for many years before entering the world of politics I worked as a radio presenter, or some might even use the term disc jockey. It is unbelievable that sitting alone in a studio, playing a great selection of songs—sometimes, depending how they were scheduled—and broadcasting to thousands, or hundreds, depending on the size of the radio station, is a job people get paid for. It is not really work.

My musical tastes are wide and varied, with a particular fondness for singer-songwriters such as James Taylor, Tom Petty, Paul Simon and Alison Krauss, who, as hon. Members will know, are American acts. Closer to home, we cannot go far wrong with Roxy Music or Phil Collins. I love their work—Phil Collins is a genius, from his work with Genesis to his great solo albums of the 1980s and 1990s. It has been great to hear about the musical experience of Members of this House through this debate.

There was a time when supposedly uber-cool critics derided Phil Collins, but his music will stand the test of time, and not fall by the wayside as trends continue to change. Let us reflect that, despite health issues and having to sing from a chair, he still gets rave reviews with Genesis as part of its “The Last Domino?” tour, and rightly so. Phil is the best of British music.

I am a daily user of the streaming platform Spotify, which has been brought up many times in this debate, and I recently discovered its 2021 Wrapped feature, which summarises my music taste over the past year. It would be remiss of me, as a former BBC employee, not to say at this point that other streaming platforms are available. In the Wrapped feature, reviewing my music listening over the past year, Spotify tells me my most listened-to artists, songs and even shows me my musical aura, which uses colour to demonstrate the genres of music I have been listening to. Mine was a mixture of blue, pink and red. I am still not quite sure what that means, but I would not want it as my wallpaper.

Hon. Members should not worry: I will not be revealing my top five songs to the House, out of acute embarrassment. Some radio stations claim to play more music variety, but my Spotify playlist ranges from classical music to Motown, and I do not think it would get much of an audience if it was broadcast.

It is important that we all understand the influence and importance of British music as we turn our attention to what is being debated today. The days of hopping on the bus into town to spend our pocket money on the latest 7-inch single are long gone. We buy and listen to our music in a very different way. With a few notable exceptions, an independent record shop on the high street is sadly now a thing of the past, and there is no more queuing at the music counter of the local Woolies to pick up a copy of the new single climbing the charts.

These days, much more music is purchased online or streamed. This new way of consuming music presents opportunities, but also significant challenges, which have been touched on in the debate. It has a particular impact on many of our modern-day British acts such as Adele, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Stormzy and Coldplay. Our music industry is famous across the world. It creates jobs, puts our country in the spotlight and is a great calling card across the globe for UK plc.

I appreciate that this private Member’s Bill has laudable intentions and is designed to provide a solution regarding how much money artists can earn from streaming, but it needs to be reconsidered. The introduction of so-called equitable remuneration, or ER, would see streaming revenue moved away from the labels and redirected to the artist. Of course, it is in everyone’s interest to see artists paid more, but let us not forget that music labels also take the initial risk in an artist’s career and provide the necessary up-front investment. That should be acknowledged.

Equitable remuneration sounds fair, but what is being proposed will have ramifications that must be carefully considered. There is a temptation to think that every music label is some big corporate beast with millions of pounds sloshing around, but that is simply not the case. Some music fans may recall some of the small independent British labels of the past, such as Factory Records, Stiff Records and Creation Records. Modern-day equivalents would find ER damaging, as there would be much less money available to spend on developing new talent, not to mention the additional bureaucracy.



The danger with ER is that it could reduce opportunities for new and emerging talent. We should be doing everything possible to encourage investment in new music and not to create any obstacles. There is also a real risk that ER could make our music industry uncompetitive and reduce its standing and impact globally. I believe that the Bill could damage our position as a global leader in new music, and we could see our overall share of global music revenue drop. That may lead to larger music labels deciding to invest in other countries instead of ours, as that would be seen as less costly.

Adopting ER would only add further complexity to an already challenging business model, not to mention additional costs. Those new costs would end up being passed on to the consumer, which would be really bad news for music fans and grim news for the British music industry. No one in the House would say that streaming does not require additional regulation, but that needs to be balanced to ensure that it does not reduce investment in new and emerging UK talent. Of course we need to take measures to ensure that streaming platforms properly protect and value music, but not in a way that will damage this British sector.

I know that the DCMS Committee, which I have just joined, will continue to look at this issue in depth, and I applaud the hon. Member for Cardiff West, a fellow member of the Select Committee, for bringing forward a plan that will be built on to create a fair solution for all. He knows, like I do, that the music industry is fiercely competitive, and we need to find the right way forward to protect investment in new music while ensuring that talent is properly paid and valued for its work. Sadly, I feel that this Bill will not hit the right notes for our music industry or the British music fan.