This guest column is by David Martin, CEO at the Featured Artists Coalition, and Annabella Coldrick, CEO at the Music Managers Forum:
Whether it’s COVID 19, Brexit, the yearning for live shows and international touring, the economics of streaming, or the constant battle against inequalities, there’s a lot going on in the music industry right now. 
The news cycle has been unrelenting, and it’s little wonder that trade bodies like ours have experienced such a substantial increase in membership. People need help and support and, in a business hit harder than most, there’s a lot of fires to attend to. 
The current debates around livestreaming touch upon many of these issues, and it’s why the FAC and MMF have been so vociferous about potential changes to the licensing regime – ever since we became aware late last year of PRS for Music’s intention to impose retrospective tariffs, rising as high as 17% of gross revenues on ticketed online events. (Compared to 4.2% of gross ticket sales at a normal “in-person” live show.) 
In the middle of a pandemic – with artists and live industry workers being absolutely decimated financially, and with livestreaming offering one of the only mechanisms to perform in front of an audience – the difference felt pretty staggering. 
The post FAC and MMF on livestreaming tariffs: ‘We need to talk!’ appeared first on Music Ally.
Source: Music ally