The Music Producers Guild has expressed its support for the Fair Digital Deals Declaration – a new initiative supported by over 700 indie record labels that want to see fair and transparent accounting of digital revenues for artists.
This massive show of support for artists to be treated and compensated fairly in the digital age has equal significance recording professionals, many of whom rely on royalties for a large proportion of their incomes.
"The music industry has a long history of unfairly exploiting the work of artists without whose creativity the industry would simply not exist," says producer and MPG executive board member Mick Glossop. "The Fair Digital Deals Declaration is a welcome initiative, which seeks to address those injustices by promoting transparency and accountability."
The initiative, coordinated by Worldwide Independent Network, states five primary guidelines that signees must adhere to. These include:
1. Ensure that artists' share of download and streaming revenues is clearly explained in recording agreements and royalty statements in reasonable summary form.
2. Account to artists a good-faith pro-rata share of any revenues and other compensation from digital services that stem from the monetization of recording but are not attributed to specific recordings or performances.
3. Encourage better standards of information from digital services on the usage and monetization of music.
4. Support artists who choose to oppose, including publicly, unauthorized uses of their music.
5. Support the collective position of the global independent record company sector.
For more information about the Declaration and the MPG's support for this important initiative, please visit www.mpg.org.uk
