What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

5 unchanged paragraphs

on cultural diversity and the conditions for authors in the European music streaming market

(2023/2054(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Article 167 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions,

Added:– having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/818 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2021 to 2027) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act),

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2022 on the implementation of the New European Agenda for Culture and the EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 20 October 2021 on Europe’s Media in the Digital Decade: an Action Plan to Support Recovery and Transformation,

– having regard to its resolution of 20 October 2021 on the situation of artists and the cultural recovery in the EU,

– having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2021 on artificial intelligence in education, culture and the audiovisual sector,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 20 October 2020 with recommendations to the Commission on a framework of ethical aspects of artificial intelligence, robotics and related technologies,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 20 October 2020 on intellectual property rights for the development of artificial intelligence technologies,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 17 September 2020 on the cultural recovery of Europe,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture and Education (A9-0000/2023),(A9-0388/2023),

Change 1

Changed:A. whereas the music sector is a major pillar of culture, as a vital component of cultural and linguistic diversity in the EU,Union, with the widest public outreach of any cultural and creative sector;sector (CCS);

Change 2

Removed:B. whereas composers, songwriters and performers are the first and foremost creative driving forces of the music sector;

Added:B. whereas the music sector is an important part of the CCS, which is recognised as one of the 14 key ecosystems for building the European economy, as it brings growth and the creation of jobs, including for young people;

Added:C. whereas composers, songwriters and performers are at the very root of the music sector value chain and are the first and foremost creative driving forces of all music distributed on streaming platforms;

D. whereas rapid innovations in digital technologies over the last two decades have profoundly transformed the music sector, in particular the way music is created, produced and distributed and the way people access and consume it;

Change 3

Changed:D.E. whereas the music sector is constantly and rapidly adapting, with new business models andmodels, new ways of interacting with audiences;audiences and the use of complementary platforms such as social media platforms or short-form video apps, which create both new opportunities and challenges; whereas, in this context, importantsignificant challenges need to be addressed, such as the promotion of cultural diversity and fair remuneration for authors;

Change 4

Changed:E.F. whereas streamingthe main way that people now enjoy music is nowvia thestreaming mainmusic wayservices inthrough whicheither peopledigital aroundmusic theplatforms worldor enjoyplatforms music,where providingonline users upload content, including social media platforms, live performance streaming or short-form video apps, which provide access to up to 300100 million tracks,tracks that are available anywhere, anytime and on all kinds of devices, either for free or for a comparatively low monthly subscription fee;

Change 5

Removed:F. whereas, although authors and performers are at the heart of music creation, they are neither recognised nor remunerated in a way that reflects the true extent of their contribution, receiving very low revenues generated by the music streaming market, which creates a significant imbalance over time that needs to be addressed;

Added:G. whereas streaming represents 67 % of the music sector’s global revenue; whereas the global music sector has experienced sustained growth, culminating in 2022 with an eighth consecutive year of growth and annual revenue of USD 22.6 billion; whereas the increasing number of investors in the music sector reveals its enormous overall economic value;

Removed:G. whereas music streaming platforms, through their use of algorithms and recommendation systems, play a decisive role in determining what subscribers listen to and therefore have a significant impact on cultural diversity;

Added:H. whereas authors and performers are frequently not recognised or remunerated in a way that reflects the true extent of their contribution, which results in a majority of authors receiving very low revenue from the music streaming market and often means they are unable to sustain their professional careers, which creates a significant imbalance over time that needs to be addressed; whereas there is a need to explore fairer models of streaming revenue allocation for authors and performers, by looking into different available mechanisms, such as pro-rata and user-centred models or totally new ones; whereas the criteria on how streams are counted by platforms may also have an impact on streaming manipulation practices;

Removed:H. whereas these platforms operate in a legal vacuum with regard to transparency and the promotion of European works, as they are under no obligation at EU level to ensure any transparency on the functioning of their operations;

Added:I. whereas studies point out that the current situation is characterised by new challenges, as well as several long-standing systemic issues that the music sector continues to face, in particular a decline in the overall value of products, a concentration of revenue takings by major labels and the most popular artists, a lack of quality data to properly identify authors, performers or other rights holders, streaming manipulation, the illegal use of music content by online content-sharing service providers and dominant online platforms and apps stores; recalls that all of these factors affect the fairness and sustainability of the revenues generated by the music streaming market;

Removed:I. whereas the promotion of cultural diversity in the European music streaming market cannot depend solely on the commercial decisions of a few private dominant global operators;

Added:J. whereas the average price of a monthly subscription to a music streaming service has not increased over the years since the launch of such services, especially when taking into account inflation and the vast increase in the content available;

Removed:J. whereas the music sector is increasingly confronted with the rise of AI-generated content with a growing number of tracks flooding streaming platforms on a daily basis; whereas the development of AI technologies should instead serve and enhance human creativity;

Added:K. whereas authors’ rights should not be considered as a free asset for music services’ own commercial and promotional strategies;

Removed:K. whereas several cases of streaming fraud and manipulation or streams by fake artists have been identified, as certain players manipulate the system to skim off revenues that should go to authors, for example, by using bots to artificially inflate the number of listeners for certain songs;

Added:L. whereas music streaming platforms, through their use of algorithms and recommendation systems, play an essential role in the discovery of content and therefore have a significant impact on cultural diversity; whereas they may also influence, select or inflate the visibility of certain tracks and therefore the revenues of authors and composers, as well as other players in the European CCS;

Removed:L. whereas more concerted efforts should be made to tackle these issues, given their impact on the market, in particular on revenue share;

Added:M. whereas music streaming platforms should continue their efforts to increase overall transparency and traceability on many operational aspects of high relevance to authors, performers and other rights holders; whereas music streaming platforms are under no obligation to provide transparency on their algorithms and recommendation tools or to ensure the promotion of European musical works;

Added:N. whereas the promotion of cultural diversity in the European music streaming market, including the promotion of European artists worldwide, needs to be further analysed to unleash the full potential of the European CCS, which cannot depend solely on the commercial decisions of dominant private global operators;

Added:O. whereas the music sector is increasingly confronted with the rise of AI-generated content, with a growing number of tracks flooding streaming platforms on a daily basis, which risks aggravating existing imbalances as regards discoverability and the remuneration of authors; whereas the development of AI technologies should instead serve and enhance human creativity and their use should be transparent;

Added:P. whereas several studies have identified cases of streaming fraud and manipulation, as certain players work to manipulate the system to skim off revenues that should go to authors and performers, for example, by using bots to artificially inflate the number of listeners for certain uploaded tracks; whereas detection systems and identification mechanisms to mitigate this fraudulent behaviour on music streaming platforms are so far limited;

Added:Q. whereas it is important to ensure a functioning single market for the online distribution of music; whereas, therefore, more dedicated efforts should be made to tackle and eliminate discrepancies and imbalances, given their impact on the market, in particular with regard to revenue share from streaming platforms; whereas to this end, further investigation and analysis should be conducted to collect data and identify factors that could create obstacles to the circulation of music content across Europe;

R. whereas the proper identification of authors is crucial not only for their recognition and better remuneration, but also for ensuring diversity and transparency on platforms;

Change 6

Changed:1. Stresses the need to support and create rules ensuring a fair and sustainable ecosystem for music streaming in the EUUnion that both promotes cultural diversity and correctsaddresses the imbalances that threatennegatively affect the sector;sector, especially its authors and performers, and may prevent it from flourishing;

Change 7

Changed:2. Highlights the fact that all actors in the music streaming value chain need to engage in an effective dialogue that includes authors and performers and make the necessary changes to ensure a fairfair, inclusive and sustainable ecosystem in the sector;sector, so that it can contribute to cultural diversity, by providing opportunities to discover artists, as well as by promoting local repertoires;

Change 8

Changed:3. Notes with concern that the current imbalance in revenue allocation in the music streaming market disfavours both authors and performers and puts the sustainability of their professional careercareers in the digital market at risk; welcomes any efforts towards fairer remuneration for authors and performers, in recognition of the importance of their role in the European music sector;

Change 9

Added:4. Calls on the Commission to assess the impact of existing contractual practices in the European music streaming market, as well as of the current revenue distribution model for music streaming services, on cultural diversity and the principle of appropriate and proportionate remuneration for authors and performers, and calls on it to explore, in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders, appropriate measures, including alternative and fairer models to reallocate streaming revenues; calls on the Commission to examine whether there is a high level of concentration in the music industry and to assess its impact on cultural diversity, on the remuneration of authors and on competition;

Added:5. Urges all stakeholders to take all necessary steps to overcome the current imbalances and asks the Commission to monitor and encourage progress in this regard and to consider appropriate policy proposals, should voluntary stakeholder initiatives fail to produce meaningful solutions;

Towards a sustainable ecosystem for authors

Change 10

Changed:4.6. Emphasises that the key role of authors should be reflected through greater visibility on the music streaming services and a more balanced distribution of streaming revenues; calls on the industry to explore new models for allocating streaming revenue in order to ensure the most equal and fairest distribution possible for authors and performers;

Change 11

Removed:5. Emphasises that it is essential to improve authors’ identification on music streaming services, in particular by ensuring a comprehensive and accurate metadata allocation from the time of creation;

Added:7. Encourages the Commission to evaluate whether the use of new technologies, such as blockchain, and the international identification codes of rights holders, musical works and sound recordings have the potential to improve transparency and cost efficiency within the music streaming market, in particular for the accuracy of metadata and remuneration, especially for authors and performers; regrets that, in general, music streaming services significantly lack such transparency and identification requirements;

Removed:6. Calls on all music industry players to intensify their efforts to ensure the comprehensive and correct metadata allocation of songs by identifying and accurately reporting authors’ data for their musical works;

Added:8. Underlines the importance of authors becoming members of collective management organisations to ensure the right to collective agreements and collective representation; emphasises that collective negotiations through authors’ societies aim to ensure proper value for the use of authors’ works in the music streaming market, as well as to facilitate fairer access to markets and cultural diversity within the Union; recalls the importance of Directive 2014/26/EU, which provides the framework for the online multi-territorial licensing of authors’ rights for music streaming services, ensures authors´ free choice in selecting the most efficient way of managing their remuneration rights, and sets a high level of transparency and good governance rules for collective management organisations, which are crucial for the effective management of repertoires on music streaming platforms;

Removed:7. Stresses the need to raise awareness, in particular among young authors, of the importance of accurately identifying songs with the proper metadata;

Added:9. Emphasises that it is essential to improve the identification of anyone involved in the creation process, in particular authors and performers, on music streaming services, by ensuring the comprehensive and accurate allocation of metadata from the time of creation for any track uploaded to a music streaming service; encourages, in this regard, the use of all international identification codes (IPI, ISWC, ISRC, IPN and ISNI); highlights that proper identification of creators plays a key role in the search for and discoverability of works, and enables proper remuneration for creators in the distribution of revenues;

Removed:8. Condemns the existence of so-called payola schemes, which force authors to accept lower revenues in exchange for greater visibility, thereby further reducing their already very low streaming revenues, while the promise of greater visibility remains unfulfilled in most cases;

Added:10. Calls on all music industry players to intensify their efforts to ensure the comprehensive and correct metadata allocation of songs by identifying and accurately reporting authors’ data for their musical works on streaming services, including when the uploaded content is done by fully independent authors;