Is Transparency the Music Industry’s Next Battle?
A new report released today by the Berklee College of Music’s Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship details what it repeatedly calls a “lack of transparency” in the music business. Titled “Transparency and Money Flows,” the 28-page report also gives recommendations that highlight the labyrinthine complexity of the current system.
The output of a year-long study, the report cites estimates “that anywhere from 20-50 percent of music payments don’t make it to their rightful owners.” Proposed fixes include better behind-the-scenes technologies, a “Creator’s Bill of Rights,” a “Fair Music” seal and education campaigns.
Those approximated percentages for music payouts lost in limbo are “based on multiple conversations with many different folks involved in payments,” acknowledges Allen Bargfrede, an associate professor at Berklee who spearheaded the report. “I personally believe the number is closer to 20%, especially in Europe and North America, but probably can be as high as 50% when you start to look at streaming payments in other languages that have different character sets.”
More: Is Transparency the Music Industry’s Next Battle? : The Record : NPR