Regarding music played in UK nightclubs, more than £5.7m each year is allegedly allocated by performing rights societies to the wrong artists
Electronic music artists, producers and songwriters are missing out on millions of pounds of lost revenue in the UK, after their music appears in DJ sets but the subsequent royalties are not properly distributed, according to new research.
The Berlin-based Fair Play initiative has found that only 28% of the fees paid by the average UK nightclub are being distributed correctly to artists. More than £5.7m a year is allegedly being misallocated by performing rights organisations, and paid out to the wrong people.
“What we’re seeing in the industry is a fundamental imbalance,” says Ethan Holben, who led the project at Fair Play. “DJs can command substantial fees for playing other people’s music, yet the producers whose tracks are being played in clubs and festivals around the world often make little or nothing. Many don’t even know their music is being played.”
Artists in genres such as R&B, rap and metal – all of which have their own nightlife venues – will also be affected, and the research suggests that independent and underground artists are likely to be hardest hit.
