An incredibly large number of independent record labels have signed the Worldwide Independent Network’s “Fair Digital Deals Declaration,” a document that outlines “simple, fair, and transparent guidelines for labels dealing with third party digital partners.”
More than 750 signatories have attached their names to the declaration, including big names like 4AD, Domino, Merge, Drag City, and Sub Pop.
The five tenets of the declaration are as follows:
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 recordings 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.
WIN has also drawn up a “Global Independent Manifesto,” which declares that independent labels deserve “equal market access and parity of terms with Universal, Sony, and Warner,” and outlines support for independent labels who treat artists fairly.
The declaration follows in the wake of YouTube’s announcement last month that it will roll out a new subscription service that requires labels to sign contracts or else have their videos blacked out.
Alison Wenham, WIN’s CEO, called the new initiative a “template for best practice” within the music industry.
“We invite companies […] to put a stop to the practice of diverting revenues from the artists without whom we would not have a business,” Wenham said.
The full text of the Fair Digital Deals Pledge can be viewed here.
• Worldwide Independent Network: http://winformusic.org
