26.04.2019: UK Music CEO Michael Dugher has urged music creators to grab the chance to protect their work and the creative industries from online harm.
UK Music CEO Michael Dugher has urged music creators to grab the chance to protect their work and the creative industries from online harm.
The Government is now seeking people’s views on its Online Harms White Paper, published on April 8, before a deadline of July 1, which is under 10 weeks away.
The blueprint sets out plans for a package of online safety measures to protect people from serious harms including the spreading of terrorists propaganda, child abuse, cyberbullying and harassment.
It also sets out plans to make tech firms more responsible for the content that they publish.
Michael Dugher welcomed the important measures contained in the White Paper. However, the UK Music CEO called on the Government to broaden the scope of the proposed legislation to include the impact of economic harm.
For example, Google-owned YouTube pays creators a tiny £0.00054p per stream of music. A song needs to be streamed 53.7 million times on YouTube before the creator can make the average UK annual salary of £29,002.
A study carried out by PRS for Music and the Intellectual Property Office in 2017 found that “stream-ripping” was the most prevalent and fastest growing form of music piracy in the UK, with nearly 70% of music-infringement dominated by the activity.
According to the Intellectual Property Office 2018 Copyright Infringement Tracker, around 31% of online music content is accessed illegally.
BPI estimate 1.3 billion tracks were consumed from infringing sources in 2018, equating to an approximate estimated cost of £140 million to the UK music economy (after VAT, retailer and publisher deductions).
CEO Michael Dugher said:
“UK Music is right behind measures to protect people from online harms and ensure tech firms take more responsibility for the content they publish.
“However, we also need to protect music creators and our creative industries from piracy and organised crime.
“The reality is that many people who work in the music industry are financially poorer because they are being short-changed for their work.
“Music creators are losing out financially and that is causing economic harm to them and their families, damaging and threatening our vibrant economic culture.
“It’s critical that music creators and those who invest in music seize this crucial opportunity to have their say. We need to urge the Government and MPs to broaden the scope of these proposals to include the economic harm that is hurting our industry and the thousands who rely upon it to make a living.
“Music creators have fewer than ten weeks to have their say and ensure we make the most of this crucial opportunity.
You can #HaveYourSay on the Online Harms White Paper here: http://bit.ly/EconomicHarms
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