\n<\/p>\n
The European Parliament is calling<\/a> for new rules to bring more fairness and transparency to music-streaming across the bloc, including proposals for a new bill to force streaming platforms to open up their recommendation algorithms.<\/p>\n The bill would also require Spotify et al<\/em> to make it clear where a song has been generated by artificial intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n While Europe has been making moves in this direction for a while already<\/a>, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) today voted to adopt<\/a> a new resolution by 532 to 61, with 33 parliamentarians abstaining from the vote which \u2014 if a bill eventually comes to fruition \u2014 will see a wide gamut of changes made to music-streaming in the region.<\/p>\n At the heart of this push is a desire to ensure that European artists are given fairer visibility and prominence on music-streaming platforms, similar to efforts in other markets such as Canada which has passed the Online Streaming Act<\/a> to support Canadian artists. While final details are far from set in stone, this might eventually include setting quotas to showcase a certain amount of work from European artists.<\/p>\n Building on that, the EU\u2019s new bill could also \u201coblige\u201d streaming platforms to help prevent unfair practices by making their algorithms and recommendation engine more transparent \u2014 this, they say, will help prevent streaming figure manipulation which might be used to reduce artists\u2019 fees.<\/p>\n Moreover, with more music<\/a> being generated by artificial intelligence<\/a> systems, including so-called \u201cdeep fakes\u201d that seek to mimic established artists, Europe could also mandate that music-streaming platforms correctly label music as such \u2014 similar to what France\u2019s Deezer started doing last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s plans also include provisions to ensure a wider distribution of streaming revenue to all artists involved in a recording, not just the main \u201cnamed\u201d artist.<\/p>\n This jibes somewhat with ongoing efforts in Uruguay, where the government introduced a new law that promises \u201cfair and equitable\u201d remuneration for all performers in a streamed piece of work \u2014 in that case, Spotify argued that the law would effectively mean that it would have to pay rightsholders twice for the same tracks, leading the music-streaming giant to begin winding down in the country<\/a> in December.\u00a0However, the company performed a 180-degree turn<\/a> when the government gave assurances that music-streaming platforms wouldn\u2019t be expected to cover extra costs resulting from the law.<\/p>\n Similarly, France recently introduced a new tax<\/a> that will impose a levy of between 1.5 and 1.75% on all music-streaming services to fund a new body set up in 2020<\/a> that supports the French music sector. In response, Spotify vowed to cut back its investment in the French market<\/a>, starting with pulling support for two music festivals.<\/p>\n This latest move by the European Parliament seeks to address similar concerns on a bloc-wide scale \u2014 vis \u00e0 vis<\/em>, a music-streaming revenue imbalance that \u201cleaves a majority of authors and performers with very low compensation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nRevenue distribution<\/h2>\n