The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), the authority responsible for culture and sport in the country, has announced that it will conduct an investigation into the extent to which artists and songwriters receive adequate compensation, reports the BBC.
This is pertinent since streaming has become the music industry’s largest revenue stream.
The investigation will begin in November and will include input from industry experts, artists and record companies as well as the streaming platforms themselves. It will look at how much the current structure risks damaging the music industry in the long run.
An example of an artist not being paid a fair fee is the violinist Tamsin Little. Little claims that she received just £12.34 for between five and six million streams over six months.
How much does Apple Music pay artists?
According to the BBC, the compensation per play should currently be around:
- £0.0059 (0.6p) for Apple Music
- £0.002-0.0038 (0.2p-0.4p) for Spotify
- £0.00052 (0.05p) for YouTube
The compensation amount is then divided between record companies, songwriters and artists. Typically, the artists get 13% in the end.
Apple has since announced the launch of its new Apple Music TV channel, although the payment system for that (assuming there is one) is not currently clear.
You can read more about Apple Music here: New Apple Music features in iOS 14.
We also have these Apple Music tips.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation by Karen Haslam.