GOOGLAMZNAAPLSPOTMauricio Santana | WireImage | Getty Images
LONDON — Some of the biggest names in the music industry have called on the U.K. government to change the way musicians get paid when their songs are streamed online over platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
The Rolling Stones and Tom Jones are among 75 artists who have added their names to a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging him to change the law regarding the royalties paid from streaming.
Other new signatories include Pet Shop Boys, Yoko Ono, Van Morrison, Barry Gibb, Emeli Sandé and Jarvis Cocker. The total number of signatures now stands at 227.
“Streaming is quickly replacing radio as our main means of music communication. However, the law has not kept up with the pace of technological change and, as a result, performers and songwriters do not enjoy the same protections as they do in radio,” the letter reads.
“Today’s musicians receive very little income from their performances — most featured artists receive tiny fractions of a U.S. cent per stream and session musicians receive nothing at all.”
The campaigners — led by the Musicians’ Union, Music Producers Guild, Ivors Academy and the #BrokenRecord initiative — argue that songwriters are struggling
