In world-first, UK major labels agree to pay per diem to songwriters

For the first time in the music industry across the globe, UK major labels have committed to pay songwriters a per diem and cover expenses for sessions. As agreed by the UK government’s Creator Renumeration Working Group, these fees will be non-recoupable from the featured artist.

Previously, songwriters have often attended sessions completely uncompensated, with no guarantee of future income unless a song is commercially released and garners a notable stream count. Many songwriters invest considerable time and money into projects that never see the light of day – their contributions wasted and unpaid.

However, even a successful song release offers pitiful financial gains to songwriters. Under the current streaming royalties structure, a songwriter whose work achieves 1 million streams per month can expect to earn around £15,000 a year. This is less than minimum wage, yet only 0.026% of songwriters have such high-performing portfolios.

Therefore, this agreement to pay songwriters a flat fee will reduce the burden on creators, and remove barriers to entry. The current landscape makes a career in songwriting unsustainable for lower-income backgrounds, meaning much talent is going unheard.

While this per diem commitment is finalised, The Ivors Academy is working with major label representatives to develop a simple and easy-to-use form that will be hosted within The Ivors Academy website.

In the meantime, songwriters should contact the person who invited them to attend the writing session and request that they are put in contact with an appropriate party at the label who can pay their per diem and appropriate expenses.

Find out how else the UK government’s new streaming deal is aiming to help artists here.

Songwriters and composers can join The Ivors Academy for free as a Discovery member and contact perdiems@ivorsacademy.com to stay informed and updated.

Read the full article from The Ivors Academy here.