What’s more important is the song. Which could have been written and performed by, say, Bob Dylan, but perhaps sung by Billie Holiday, but created by Lewis Allan (Strange Fruits). It may also have been celebrated by Vangelis Perpiniadis, but it was composed by Christos Leontis and the lyrics were written by Michalis Papanicolaou (“Where a Dream Can Fit”). And while such knowledge may have been more accessible to the ancients, today, in the era of music streaming services and the over 70 million songs they have, the problem of identifying, recognizing, and rewarding creators becomes more complex.

In fact, music streaming platforms, most notably Spotify, are so dominant as a way to listen that they are used by 78% of consumers – 524 million users worldwide. This is basically the picture of the market described in a study that will be presented today in Brussels by GESAC, a coalition of European collective management organizations of intellectual creators, in which the Greek organization Self-Government also participates as an accredited member.

The focus of the study was on the position of composers and lyricists in the European music streaming market and how it could be improved in the context of a more equal and diverse music ecosystem.

90% of Spotify streams in March 2021 came from 57,000 artists out of 8 million posted.

Some of the findings from the research that K already has are revealing: based on big hits, the music streaming market has created a pyramidal system in which a few successful songs capture the most listeners. – 90% of Spotify streams in March 2021 were from 57,000 artists out of 8 million hosted. In terms of commissions, from the subscription paid by users to the platform, 30-34% is its profit, and of the remaining 70%, 55% is returned to record companies, singers and musicians, and the songwriter and music publisher (who manages the rights to the composition) receive fifteen%.

In Greece, the music genres most played on the platforms according to Self-Management are rap and trap, which appeal to users aged 16-25 and even younger. The organization also collects royalties from the various countries where its members’ songs are used (through a partnership with Mint Digital Services), however the need for many domestic creators for fairer royalties, training on how to “upload” a song, or even for proper mention of their names remains.

The GESAC study offers even more comprehensive and structured solutions to the problems of recognition, reward and identification of creators: among other things, the mandatory reporting of song details on platforms, fairer rewards for creators by promoting subscription streaming packages (compared to the prevailing free ones), but also using algorithms that will promote the discovery and diversity of artists. The study argues that tools such as the latter can also be promoted by the European Union.