Hipgnosis boss: Music industry at risk from ‘gluttonous’ record labels
Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis said there was not a fair and equitably split of music royalties (Getty Images for SXSW)
The music industry is under threat from “gluttonous” record labels taking royalties away from artists and songwriters, the boss of music investment firm Hipgnosis has said.
Merck Mercuriadis accused the major record companies of “trying to take everything for themselves”, warning that some artists were unable to survive off royalty income as a result.
“The biggest threat to the music business right now is not financial, it’s that it is discouraging the great artists of the past, present and future from being a part of this business because of the gluttonous tactics of the record companies,” he told
The harsh reality about the music business, and a pantomime led by clueless self-regarders.
January 19, 2021
John Nicolson MP chose not to explore user-centric licensing at the DCMS Committee, at David Joseph s invitation. Instead, he suggested major record company heads should feel ashamed
Here it is. Amongst all the industry-wide debate over equitable streaming payouts, this has cracked it. Finally, a truly revolutionary idea that ensures an actual fair share of the billions of dollars Spotify makes goes to every artist.
For starters, let’s stop arguing about what royalty share record companies should take from their individual contracts with artists. Let’s just cut those suckers out altogether. You read right: let’s kill the majors! Nighty night you million-dollars-an-hour machines!