LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — United Kingdom anti-trust regulators, the Competition & Markets Authority shared an initial ruling indicating it does not plan to pursue a broader inquiry into music streaming.
The announcement comes nine months after the CMA announced plans to conduct a market study into the streaming industry following a request from Parliament.
In a preliminary statement released on July 25th, the CMA said its assessment showed that “on balance” the market “is delivering good outcomes for consumers.”
As well, the CMA found that while just three major record labels play a key role in the industry, the evidence does not seem to indicate that this concentrated market is currently causing consumers harm or that it is driving the concerns raised by artists.
For their study, the CMA noted that 138 billion songs were streamed in 2021 and that 1 million streams a month could earn an artist around £12,000 ($14.4k) a year.
However, their regulatory ire may be aroused anew if the market evolved in ways that could harm consumer interests, including record labels and music streamers generating “sustained and substantial excess profits.”
The study is ongoing and the CMA solicited further input from stakeholders and the public, which will inform their final report.
The CMA will share its analysis with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), the IPO and the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) to help inform their work examining whether artists’ rights can be strengthened for music streaming.
