The value of music must be upheld across all platforms in order for streaming to become sustainable, PRS for Music’s head of policy and public affairs John Mottram has warned.
Addressing a recent Westminster Media Forum, Mottram said every single use of music has an intrinsic value – a logic which must apply to all streaming services, including those hosting user generated content (UGC).
Criticising the current marketplace, which sees some UGC services ‘give away the world’s music for free or simply against what advertisers are willing to pay for it’, he said it was unsustainable for creators and services alike.
He added: ‘Throughout the long debate on piracy, policymakers, politicians and the industry were all in agreement that music cannot be free. This logic must apply to streaming services based on user uploaded content.’
Mottram praised the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer, which are fully licensed and share the value they generate with creators.
‘But services which provide access to user upload content are often not licensed. Indeed, the legal framework prevents rightsholders from doing so - the so-called safe harbour and value gap problem,’ he added.
The forum took place on 12 July, with Jane Dyball, chief executive of the MPA Group of Companies, delivering a keynote speech.
Lord Clement-Jones and Pete Wishart MP, co-chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music chaired the seminar.
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