Streaming music is really a modern-day miracle but it is not fair to musicians

Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan is hoping to get his Private Member's Bill (The Copyright (Rights and Remuneration of Musicians etc) Bill) through Parliament which may produce a to fair remuneration for musicians.

I love music streaming. Who wouldn't desire to be in a position to access all of the world's music from the device in their back pocket? For people who grew up saving our pennies to purchase the most recent David Bowie record it's a modern-day miracle.

Because it is so great, millions of people are willing to pay a regular membership to access services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer.

Find out more: Music revenues grew by 6.8% to lb1.6 billion last year, based on figures compiled by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).

So why shall we be held proposing a new law in Parliament about how artists are treated within this new world of streaming? In the end it comes down to helping young talented people from ordinary backgrounds to have a fair chance of a career in music, not merely X Factor fame or bust.

The issue is the people whose creativity most people are enjoying, the musicians and artists, are the type who aren't getting a fair reward, while others, the major foreign corporations who run platforms and record labels, are raking inside a fortune.

Some people reason that since it is easier and cheaper to record a track there is just too many artists, which is why streaming pays so poorly. But in practice the problem is in the manner the available money paid by consumers is divided up.

When the brand new technology arrived the three major record labels who charge of the majority of the music catalogue made sure that revenue was divided up in their favour, leaving artists and songwriters having a small slice from the pie. From a consumer point of view it all seems a great deal, but exactly how a lot of us recognise that, because of the way streaming services share it out, much of our money is often going to music we never pay attention to as opposed to the artists we like?

For example, you may only have a couple of hours per month to hear music, however when you do, you usually listen to the Manic Street Preachers. But the artist' share of your lb10 won't go to the Manics if other consumers have Spotify on all day hearing the most recent big hits. It's different when you buy a record or CD since the artist share of that money is going to be earmarked for that musician you like regardless of how often you take part in the record.

So streaming is a brand-new way of consuming music. Somewhat it is more like radio than the usual record, particularly when a formula continues playing songs it thinks you might like but haven't requested.

What's all this got to use parliament and also the law? Well performers earn money from the work they do within the live concerts they give, or in the royalties for that use of their songs and recordings.

In the final year-and-a-half live performance has been largely impossible because of Government Covid restrictions. Naturally this has focussed musicians' attention on what they get paid from their recordings and compositions

The law on copyright states when you performed on the record that's played around the radio you are eligible for a payment called 'equitable remuneration'.

That same right does not apply in the united kingdom if your recording is listened to on the streaming service like Spotify. My Bill will bring what the law states up to date by creating a new right for musicians for an additional share from the revenue from streaming.

This is particularly timely because the stated purpose of companies like Spotify is to replace radio because the method in which people mostly listen to music. If that happens, and the law continues to be same, musicians will lose a little but valuable source of income which helps to supplement their other earnings from making music.

This is about creating the right structure for any secure, career in music. I would like young adults to be able to desire to make a reasonable living from original music. I would like them to be able to make music that people will like and appreciate, and to get a great amount of the money people pay to listen to it.

In my constituency of Cardiff West the fastest growing sector of the economy is incorporated in the creative industries. Talent is everywhere but opportunity isn't. Let's be clear, not every talented person will be able to make a living out of music but there's something wrong having a system where record industry executives get massive salaries and share options when talented award-nominated artists can't pay their rent.

My Bill would play a small part in helping to create an environment where more talented people might have that chance to make a living out of their creative skills. Fair play to create fair pay – this is the goal.