As the European Union’s directive aimed at ensuring fairer compensation for artists from streaming platforms remains blocked by Belgian courts, a significant majority of music artists in Belgium express dissatisfaction with their streaming income.
The directive, which seeks to address issues of fair pay in the digital age, has yet to be fully implemented in Belgium due to ongoing legal challenges.
According to a recent survey conducted by the international performer’s rights collective PlayRight, dissatisfaction with streaming revenues is widespread among Belgian artists.
The survey, which included responses from over 9,500 artists across 19 countries, reveals a stark reality for Belgian musicians. More than eight in ten artists (81.48%) in Belgium report being either “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with their streaming earnings.
The EU directive on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market, adopted in 2019, was designed to compel platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify to provide authors and performers with compensation that is deemed “appropriate and proportionate.”
However, the directive’s implementation has faced significant delays in Belgium due to a legal battle that has seen major streaming platforms challenge the proposed changes.
The Belgian law intended to transpose this EU directive into national legislation was supposed to take effect in August 2022.
However, the new regulations were contested in the Constitutional Court by several key players in the streaming industry, including Google, Meta (formerly Facebook), Sony Music, Streamz, and Spotify.
These platforms argue against the proposed non-transferable right to remuneration for authors and performers, leading to a protracted legal struggle.
The Belgian Constitutional Court is expected to deliver a ruling by the end of September. Should the court uphold the law’s validity, it will be applied retroactively from August 1, 2022, potentially altering the landscape of streaming revenues for Belgian artists.
Despite the directive’s partial implementation elsewhere in Europe, where artist satisfaction with streaming income has shown slight improvement, Belgian artists continue to experience frustration.
In 2022, 87% of European artists reported dissatisfaction with their streaming earnings. This figure has slightly decreased to 69.1% as of the latest survey, with those satisfied or very satisfied increasing marginally from 4% to 5.1%.
Nevertheless, the broader issues within the streaming industry remain. The PlayRight survey highlights that nearly two-thirds (64.7%) of European artists feel there is a lack of transparency in how streaming pay is calculated.
Additionally, a staggering 87.6% of respondents believe that streaming revenues are not distributed fairly, and 71.3% express concerns that royalties for recording sessions are inadequately compensated.
The ongoing court case in Belgium adds a layer of complexity to an already fraught situation. The legal challenges by streaming platforms aim to delay or diminish the impact of the new law, which is intended to address these very concerns about fair compensation.
For Belgian artists, the outcome of this case will be pivotal in determining whether they will receive a more equitable share of the revenues generated by their work on streaming platforms.
As the industry awaits the court’s decision, the dissatisfaction among Belgian artists underscores the broader issue of how digital platforms value and compensate creative work.
The current legal uncertainty not only affects musicians in Belgium but also highlights the urgent need for reform in the digital music economy to ensure that artists are fairly rewarded for their contributions.
In conclusion, the dissatisfaction with streaming income among Belgian artists reflects a larger, ongoing issue within the European music industry.
The EU directive represents a crucial step towards fairer compensation, but the continued legal battles and delays in Belgium reveal the challenges of enforcing these changes.
As the Constitutional Court prepares to make its ruling, the outcome will be closely watched by artists and industry stakeholders alike, hoping for a resolution that supports fair remuneration in the digital age.
