Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has plans to meet artists and songwriters following their open letter to the Prime Minister on 19 April 2021 on changing the law in respect of online streaming of recorded music.

The Government recognises that it is important that artists are fairly remunerated for their work. We are aware of the concerns that have been raised recently with regards to musicians’ incomes, including the open letter to the Prime Minister from artists and songwriters.

We welcome the DCMS Select Committee inquiry looking at the economics of music streaming. This is an important debate for the music sector. Once the Select Committee publishes its recommendations from the inquiry, the Government will review and respond in due course. We will be happy to consider any meeting requests from interested stakeholders as appropriate.

We continue to encourage dialogue between music creators, record labels, and streaming services as they seek to resolve the challenges in this area.

Robust evidence is vital. This is why the Government has funded a 12-month industry-led research project investigating the flow of money from streaming to creators which is due to report this summer.