U.K. BIZ TO ADDRESS METADATA ISSUES 

The U.K. music industry has agreed to improve streaming metadata, committing to consistent crediting on DSPs over a two-year period.

An agreement written by the Intellectual Property Office with the help of industry experts has been signed by key trade bodies and organizations, including the BPI, AIM, ERA, MMF and Hipgnosis Songs Fund.

It aims to improve incomplete or inaccurate metadata, which, as the agreement states, can lead to significant delays to creators' being paid for the use of their works and in some cases not being paid at all.

The signatories will also ensure that a core data set is associated with all new recordings. They’ve likewise pledged to follow best practices and establish and support working groups on education and technical solutions to drive improvements during the two-year period.

The BPI says it expects “immediate improvements in the speed and accuracy of songwriter payments” as a result. Said BPI Chief Strategy Officer and interim CEO Sophie Jones, “Along with further updates on transparency to come, this work builds on positive steps taken by the industry itself, including policies to set aside pre-2000 unrecouped advances, which means more legacy artists can now receive royalties from streaming.”

The UK Council of Music Makers, which reps fellow signatories the MMF, Ivors Academy, FAC, MPG and MU, called the code “a crucial first step to ensure that the entire U.K. music industry comes together to set new standards and processes on how vital song, composition and recording data is collated, ingested and distributed—ensuring that songwriters, composers, artists, musicians and producers are paid with greater accuracy and efficiency.”

The news follows Tuesday’s announcement that the U.K. is setting up an industry working group to explore fair pay for creators in streaming. All of this work stems from the Economics of Streaming Report published in 2021.