DiS001: The trade unionist campaigning for fairer streaming - Naomi Pohl from Musicians' Union
02/02/23 • 37 min
How do we "fix" music streaming? It's a question that has plagued the music industry and musicians for a decade and a half, whilst debating the pounds, pennies and slithers of a pence per stream... so this discussion about music streaming seemed like a great place to restart our podcast, which is will focus on music, through the prism of creativity, sustainability, pioneers and big ideas.
There are now a range of campaigns around the world and several organisations unifying in the UK to try to change the law, to ensure musicians and those who invest in them receive fairer pay from Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, Apple, Amazon, etc, etc, etc...
In the UK, there's been a UK government DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) enquiry exploring the issue of music streaming royalties and the challenges faced by musicians in receiving fair compensation for their work.
In this relaunch episode of our podcast, DiS founder Sean Adams (@seaninsound | drownedinsound.org) spoke to Naomi Pohl, the General Secretary of the Musicians' Union, a trade union representing 33,000 musicians about music streaming. We also discussed various campaigns she's the driving force behind to improve things for musicians. The General Secretary highlights the efforts of the Musicians' Union to advocate for and support musicians, including their fight for fair pay and improved working conditions. You'll also learn about the importance of joining a union and how both musicians and music fans can support their campaigns, which you can find here musiciansunion.org.uk (including how new members can join for as little as £1).
The wide-ranging enquiry into music streaming, entitled Copyright (Rights and Renumeration, etc) Bill, also known as The Brennan Bill (named because it's been led by musician and Labour MP Kevin Brennan) is looking into the current music streaming landscape, including the payment structures and methods used by music streaming platforms, as well as the challenges faced by musicians in receiving appropriate compensation from the platforms and their labels. The aim of the enquiry, which has been going on for a couple of years now, is to make recommendations to the UK government on ways to ensure that musicians receive fair compensation for their work, and to ensure that the music industry continues to thrive and support musicians. You can read more about where the enquiry is currently at on MusicAlly here.
In this conversation, Naomi Pohl explains her role and the process of changing the law and discusses her wider challenges over the coming months and years.
Want to help? "A positive step you can take to find out who your local MP is and try and build a bit of a relationship, especially if you find that there's somebody there who's passionate about music" - you can find your MP using theyworkforyou.com
How many musicians are there in the UK? There's a census happening which you can take part in here musicianscensus.co.uk
How do we "fix" music streaming? It's a question that has plagued the music industry and musicians for a decade and a half, whilst debating the pounds, pennies and slithers of a pence per stream... so this discussion about music streaming seemed like a great place to restart our podcast, which is will focus on music, through the prism of creativity, sustainability, pioneers and big ideas.
There are now a range of campaigns around the world and several organisations unifying in the UK to try to change the law, to ensure musicians and those who invest in them receive fairer pay from Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, Apple, Amazon, etc, etc, etc...
In the UK, there's been a UK government DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) enquiry exploring the issue of music streaming royalties and the challenges faced by musicians in receiving fair compensation for their work.
In this relaunch episode of our podcast, DiS founder Sean Adams (@seaninsound | drownedinsound.org) spoke to Naomi Pohl, the General Secretary of the Musicians' Union, a trade union representing 33,000 musicians about music streaming. We also discussed various campaigns she's the driving force behind to improve things for musicians. The General Secretary highlights the efforts of the Musicians' Union to advocate for and support musicians, including their fight for fair pay and improved working conditions. You'll also learn about the importance of joining a union and how both musicians and music fans can support their campaigns, which you can find here musiciansunion.org.uk (including how new members can join for as little as £1).
The wide-ranging enquiry into music streaming, entitled Copyright (Rights and Renumeration, etc) Bill, also known as The Brennan Bill (named because it's been led by musician and Labour MP Kevin Brennan) is looking into the current music streaming landscape, including the payment structures and methods used by music streaming platforms, as well as the challenges faced by musicians in receiving appropriate compensation from the platforms and their labels. The aim of the enquiry, which has been going on for a couple of years now, is to make recommendations to the UK government on ways to ensure that musicians receive fair compensation for their work, and to ensure that the music industry continues to thrive and support musicians. You can read more about where the enquiry is currently at on MusicAlly here.
In this conversation, Naomi Pohl explains her role and the process of changing the law and discusses her wider challenges over the coming months and years.
Want to help? "A positive step you can take to find out who your local MP is and try and build a bit of a relationship, especially if you find that there's somebody there who's passionate about music" - you can find your MP using theyworkforyou.com
How many musicians are there in the UK? There's a census happening which you can take part in here musicianscensus.co.uk
Previous Episode
DiS000: Prologue
If this is an "audio publication" then this episode is the editor's (voice) note, as Sean Adams introduces some of the topics, ideas and thinking this new phase of the Drowned in Sound podcast.
To begin, help yourself to a David Bowie and Janelle Monáe sandwich.
Next Episode
DiS002: Discover... The Faux Faux (Faith Vern from PINS)
Faith Vern has collaborated with the likes Iggy Pop and Maxine Peake, and played huge sets on main stages of festivals such as Reading with her band PINS.
In this episode, Faith tells us all about the debut single of her new solo project The Faux Faux, which is the first release on the rebooted Drowned in Sound Singles Club (drownedinsound.org).
Drowned in Sound founder and podcast host Sean Adams (@seaninsound) introduces the podcast with a little history of the Drowned in Sound label and asks questions about how this solo material is different to the fun party punk that PINS were known for, what it's like writing music for big HBO, Netflix and Apple TV shows, how a mixture of Plath and moving out of Manchester inspired the track, and in a world where liner notes are rare, there's credits and more background to the track.
Watch the music video shot in the North of England using 500ft of film and find out more here https://www.thefauxfaux.co.uk/music
Go deeper and hear tracks by acts involved in this track on this Spotify playlist.
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