Research and analysis

Executive summary

Published 23 September 2021

This report was commissioned by the Intellectual Property Office to examine a key aspect of the market for music commissions in the UK audio-visual (AV) sector: so-called ‘buyout’ contracts between commissioners and composers for screen. As new-entrant Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) services become increasingly influential commissioners of content in the UK sector, concerns articulated by a number of stakeholders suggest buyout deals are becoming increasingly common. Payment in such agreements is limited to one-off fees at the ‘front-end’ of the deal, with music creators required to waive any claim to potentially valuable ‘back-end’ royalties. Moreover, it has been suggested that these deals are increasingly offered on ‘take it or leave it’ terms. Such developments have profound implications for music creators’ earnings in the streaming age.

The report first identifies the origins of these debates and examines academic and industry discourse around this subject. Following from this, the approach employed in the study is set out. The findings presented here are drawn from three research methods:

• a survey of 69 media composer contracts provided by the Musicians’ Union;
• focus group discussion with media composers;
• semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, including: trade organisation representatives, collective management organisations, music publishers and screen commissioners

The main findings of the report are:

• opportunities for AV commissions have greatly increased in the streaming age, but there are a great many more creators active in the marketplace
• commissioners suggest that originally commissioned works have become more attractive in order to ensure control of the music component of AV content in an increasingly complex and fragmented licensing landscape

• a number of contributors noted the importance of being able to trade-off ‘front-end ‘and ‘back-end’ dimensions of a commission but intimated that this had become more challenging in a market increasingly characterised by ‘take it or leave it’ terms

• there was consensus from music creators and trade organisation representatives that ‘front-end’ commission fees have declined while the ‘back-end’ dimensions of screen commissions have also been eroded in the digital age
• the majority of contracts surveyed did not constitute full buyouts of music creators’ rights as the ‘writer’s share’ remains a significant element that commissioners cannot be bought out in the UK
• while some rights are routinely licensed/assigned/waived in contracts, there was general agreement that protections afforded in respect of unassignable aspects of performing rights should be upheld

There is considerable scope for further research in this area. A number of potential approaches and lines of inquiry are identified in the report:

• examination of the extent to which any increase in opportunities for media composers in the streaming age has affected opportunities for new commissions for media composers from underrepresented groups
• a large-scale survey of agreements between AV commissioners and music creators in order to examine the key features of such deals and how these have evolved over time
• research involving different constituencies of writers for screen, including those at the start of their careers, to gain better understandings of creator motivations and contract negotiation processes
• an examination of the potential for a music commissioning code of practice to be implemented, using relevant comparators from relevant sectors/industries