CMU INSIGHTS RESEARCH HUB
Performer Payments From Streaming
A guide to performer payments from audio-visual and music streaming services
Market growth in both the audio-visual and recorded music sectors has been primarily driven in recent years by the significant rise of multi-territory subscription streaming services run by companies like Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple, Spotify and Deezer.
However, the degree to which this growth has benefited performers varies greatly, as in many cases performer payments are entirely dependent on the specific contracts agreed between those performers and the producers, studios, broadcasters and record labels which control the copyrights in the movies, TV shows and recordings that are being streamed.
CMU Insights was asked by PayPerformers to produce a practical guide to how revenues generated from streaming services in both the audio-visual and music sectors are currently shared with actors, musicians and other performers in markets across Europe.
Based on a series of interviews with managers, lawyers and accountants in multiple European countries – and with additional insights from performer unions and societies across the continent – the guide explains in what scenarios performers can expect additional payments when their performances are made available via streaming services.
In the case of featured artists in the music industry, it also explains the complexities in how record deals are structured and interpreted, and the impact those complexities have on what payments artists receive whenever their music is streamed on services like Spotify and Apple Music.
