Girls and boys read Imusify whitepaper
INDUSTRY LANDSCAPE
The way we listen to music is changing fast, and the business of music is struggling to keep up. Constantly shifting business models affect performers and songwriters, producers and publishers, promoters and live music venues. The music industry has led the digital transition throughout the greater media industry1, which has presented exciting opportunities for convenient music consumption, but also created problems regarding
1. Matti Vaininen, Digital Transformation in Music Industry, Aalto University School of Business, (2016).
Returning fair value to the individuals and groups creating music content.
Addressing the Value Gap
Artists, songwriters, record labels and other industry players have begun to take action to address musics value gap. In June 2016, over 1,000 artists and performers including big names such as Sir Paul McCartney, Coldplay and David Guetta, signed a petition requesting that the European Commission take urgent action to address the value gap in music:
Earlier in 2016, Jon Bon Jovi, Katy Perry, and Christina Aguilera were among hundreds of creators to sign a petition to the U.S. Copyright office proposing similar legislative reforms:
The value gap undermines the rights and revenues of those who create, invest in and own music, and distorts the marketplace. This is because, while music consumption is at record highs, user upload services are misusing safe harbour exemptions. These protections were put in place two decades ago to help develop nascent digital startups, but today are being misapplied to corporations that distribute and monetise our works. We urge you to take action now to create a fair playing field for artists and rights owners. In doing so, you will be securing the future of music for generations to come2.
2. Robert Levine, Its a System That Is Rigged Against the Artists: The War Against YouTube, Billboard, (2016).
This is a pivotal moment for music. Consumption is exploding. Fans are listening to more music than ever before. Consumers have unprecedented opportunities to access the music they love, whenever and wherever they want to do so. But the future is jeopardised by a substantial value gap caused by user upload services such as Googles YouTube that are unfairly siphoning value away from the music community and its artists and songwriters3.