Indie Labels Launch Fair Digital Deals Declaration

16 July 2014 - Press release

Worldwide Declaration Signing Day Scheduled for 16^th July 

“The big print giveth and the small print taketh away. ” 

The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), the organisation that represents the interests of the global independent music community, has announced a major new initiative, ‘The Fair Digital Deals Declaration,’ which will be launched with a Worldwide Declaration Signing Day on July 16^th.  

The Fair Digital Deals Declaration is a statement of commitment made by independent record labels to treat their artists fairly in agreements relating to digital exploitation of artists’ work in recorded music agreements with third parties. 

The campaign can be followed on Twitter from the @winformusic account throughout the day where updates from trade associations and labels across the world, including photos and Declaration signing news, will be added using the hashtag #fairdigitaldeal4artists.

In today’s music industry, new digital services launch regularly, and existing services continue to launch new features. In recent years a pattern has emerged whereby large rights owners can secure huge lump sum payments, typically for equity, access, administration, ‘breakage’ and other non-attributable charges.  The artist community has understandably expressed growing concern about the apparent disparity between the value of the overall deal to the rights holder versus the per-stream rate which is often the only revenue shared with the artist.  As it is the artist whose work creates all such revenues, the WIN community has determined to adopt a clear stance for the artist community.  

The WIN Declaration makes it clear that signatory companies will share the benefits of dealing with digital services fairly and clearly with artists. This is to amplify our commitment to fairness and transparency, and to ensuring a sustainable economic relationship between the independent recorded music industry and the artists it partners with to bring their music to market.

There are 5 key points to the declaration as follows:

• We will ensure that artists’ share of download and streaming revenues is clearly explained in recording agreements and royalty statements in reasonable summary form.

• We will 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. 

• We will encourage better standards of information from digital services on the usage and monetisation of music.

• We will support artists who choose to oppose, including publicly, unauthorized uses of their music. 

• We will support the collective position of the global independent record company sector as outlined in the Global Independent Manifesto.

Any label signing up to this declaration will also commit to communicating to their artists that they have signed the Declaration. They will agree to attach a signed copy of the Declaration to their artists’ royalty statements at the next royalty payment run to demonstrate their support for the initiative.

In addition WIN will coordinate a Worldwide Declaration Signing Day on July 16^th with independent music trade associations around the world announcing their individual member labels’ support through local and international media channels.

Alison Wenham, Chairman of WIN said, “A healthy commercial relationship based on mutual trust and partnership between artists and labels is critical to the long term financial health of our industry. We believe that this new initiative, which seeks to put in place simple, fair and transparent guidelines for labels dealing with third party digital partners is a template for best practice. We invite companies – majors and indies – to join the hundreds of companies who have already signed and put a stop to the practise of diverting revenues from the artists without whom we would not have a business.”

The group who developed the Declaration consisted of Emmanuel de Buretel/Because, Martin Mills/Beggars, Alison Wenham/WIN, Justin West/Secret City, Darius Van Arman/Secretly Group, Florian Von Hoyer/Altafonte, Doug D’Arcy/Faith and Hope, all members of the WIN Council.

Martin Mills, Group Chairman of the Beggars Group said: “ Why wouldn’t we treat artists fairly? It seems so obvious that we shouldn’t have to say it, but let’s say it, loud and proud”.

Darius Van Arman, co-founder of the Secretly Group said: Dead Oceans / Jagjaguwar / Numero Group / Secretly Canadian, added: "The bedrock of trust between artists and labels is artists receiving a fair share of the revenue that is earned from their work, where labels convey financial terms transparently and comprehensibly to artists. This is how the independents prefer to do business. Our signing of the Labels' Fair Digital Deals Declaration demonstrates our commitment to this ideal and is an invitation to all industry participants to make the same commitment." 

Justin West, President of Secret City Records commented: “No constructive business relationship is sustainable without fairness and transparency. The more that we all reinforce those principles, the stronger an industry we will be.”

Emmanuel de Buretel, Founder of Because Group said: “The dematerialization of music distribution has opened and simplified the access of music to consumers, but deals with digital platforms have seriously complicated reporting between the artists and the labels. The only way to create a long lasting relationship between artists and labels is to apply total transparency with regards to our deals with the distribution platforms and that is what this Declaration promises from us.” 

Our special thanks to Tom Waits for permission to use his quote.

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FAIR DIGITAL DEAL DECLARATION SIGNATORIES (As of 15th July 2014)  
Not full list, only UK and USA listed

UK
2point9
4AD
Abstract Sounds
Ambiguous Records
Analogue Trash
Beggars Group
Buzzin’ Fly Records
Cry of Hope Music
Daniel Strong Entertainment Limited
Dawson Breed Music
Dis-infected Records
Eleven Seven Music
Epitaph
Essential Distribution
Everlasting Resonance Records
Fabric Records
Faith & Hope Records
Fat Cat
Fat Northerner
Finetunes
Full Time Hobby
Future Proof Records
Hilo Records
Hit and Run Records
Hospital Records
Houndstooth
Innerground Records
Invictus Music & Media
JSP Records
Just Music
LC Recordings
Lynchburg Records
Matador
Mayvid Entertainment
MBS Records
Moshi Moshi
Mute
Naim
NinjaTune
PRPB
Quiverdisk
Rough Trade
Secretly Group
Snapper Music
Stolen Recordings
Sunday Best
The Leaf Label
Tyger’s Heart Music
Urban Skyline
Warp Records
Wichita Recordings Ltd
XL Recordings
Young Turks

U.S
335 Records
4AD
Acephale
Acony
Akela Family Music
anti-
Asthmatic Kitty
Awesome Tapes for Africa
Bar/None
Barsuk
Beggars Group
Bloodmoss Records
Boy Scout
Brainfeeder
Captured Tracks
Century Media
CHV Music
Collector Records
Cooking Vinyl
Cork Records
Countdown Media
Couple Skate
CV America
Dangerbird Records
Dead Oceans
Drag City
Dualtone
Dyer-Bennet
Eleven Seven Music Group
Epitaph
ESP Disk
Everest
Factory
Family Vineyard
Fast Folk
Fearless
Felte
finetunes
Five Seven Music
Folkway Records
Ghostly International
Glassnote
Hellcat
Hopeless Records
INgrooves Music Group
Jagjaguwar
Jullian Records
Kill Rock Stars
Knitting Factory
Lang Van Inc.
Luaka Bop
M.O.R.E.
Mad Dragon Music Group
Madacy
Matador
Merge
Merok
Mickey Hart Collection
Monitor
Mountain Apple
MPRESS Records
Mute
Nacional
Nettwerk
Ninja Tune
No Quarter Records
Numero Group
Omnian Music Group
Omnivore
Paredon Records
Partisan
Peace Feast
Playing In Traffic
PRA Records
Quite Scientific
RBC Records
Red Beet
Redeye Distribution
Roma Music Group
Rostrum
Rough Trade
RVNG Int'l
Saddle Creek
Salvia
SC Distribution
Secretly Canadian
Side One Dummy Records
Silva Screen Music America
Simply Grand
Sinderlyn
Six Degrees
Skaggs Family Records
Smithsonian Folkways
Stones Throw
Sub City
Sub Pop
Suite 102
Sumerian Records
Temporary Residence
The Orchard
The Summit Church Music
Thirty Tigers
Tommy Boy
Too Pure
True Panther
Try Science
Tuff Gong Worldwide
Tummy Touch
UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music
Virtual Label
Warp
Werkdiscs
Western Vinyl
Wicked Cool
Wind-up
XL
YepRoc
Young One