David Byrne Calls for Streaming Revenue Transparency in New Op-Ed

David Byrne has been a vocal advocate on behalf of artists in the age of streaming, and in a new op-ed for the New York Times, the ex-Talking Heads leader calls for labels to be more transparent in their dealings with streaming services.

The Verge’s sources also commented on the status of Apple Music, stating that labels are “pretty pleased” with Apple Music’s performance thus far and that the service has gained a “substantial” number of users since it launched on June 30.

David Byrne has called for more transparency from major labels and streaming services, criticising the lack of information regarding how they pay royalties and what percentage of these reach the artists. “They said they disclosed that only to copyright owners (that is, the labels)”.

“Compared with vinyl and CD production, streaming gives the labels incredibly high margins, but the labels act as though nothing has changed”, he wrote.

Apple’s creation of the Beats 1 radio station has been one of the best parts about the company’s new Apple Music streaming service, but it might not be Apple’s only station for much longer. “What’s to stop them?” If the labels opened their “black boxes” and revealed the details of their financial exploitation of musicians, the entire music industry would flourish.

In October 2013, Byrne was more critical of music streaming services in an essay for The Guardian, warning that the medium’s low royalty rates would dissuade artists from pursuing a career in music and that “our future as a musical culture looks grim”.

Byrne’s solution to the whole problem is transparency. “Despite all technological possibilities to track digital music streams at any time in any place on the Net, the money flows has become more obscure than ever before”, it found. “It is almost impossible for artists to control if their royalty payments are correct”.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Apple has cleverly tucked legal copy into the documents it signed with the major music labels that allow it to create up to five additional stations without needing to alter the terms of the agreement. “It’s easy to blame new technologies like streaming services for the drastic reduction in musicians’ income”.