PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(22 April 2026)

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to ensure that the voluntary measures agreed by the Creator Remuneration Working Group in July 2025 deliver improved remuneration for (a) session musicians and orchestral players and (b) other non-featured artists from music streaming platforms.

Asked by:
Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat)

Ensuring that music creators are fairly compensated for their work is crucial to the ongoing success of our world-class music industry, as this is what allows them to invest their time, effort, and money into creating music.

Through the Creator Remuneration Working Group, we collaborated on this matter with key industry stakeholders, including major and independent record labels and music creator representatives.

In July 2025, we were delighted to welcome the new label-led principles as an output of these discussions. This includes targeted support for legacy artists, songwriters and session musicians, with the commitment from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Musicians’ Union to increase fees for session musicians by 40% for pop and 15% for classical sessions. The UK’s major labels have also launched bespoke packages to deliver benefits for UK creators.

To track progress and measure success, the government has worked with industry to implement a robust process to monitor and review the impact of the Principles. The Government will then assess the need for further intervention to ensure this package delivers on its objective to bring about real change.

Answered by:
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