The Re-Intermediation of the Music Industries Value Chain: Market Definition, Streaming Gatekeepers and the Control of Data

This submission responds to the Consultation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for its proposed market study on the ‘Music and streaming market’. Three key areas are identified that require particular attention:

1. the definition of ‘music streaming market’, in particular understanding audio in a wider context, and where music streaming is a complementary but secondary component of business models;
2. the relationships between self-release creators/micro-producers and music streaming services, in particular the role of established and new-entrant gatekeeping intermediaries, such as collective management organisations (CMOs) and artist and label (A&L) services;
3. the control, interoperability and portability of data, in particular content identifiers, content metadata (such as ownership) and data associated with the digital identity of artists (such as their followers and other information about users and use).

The Opinion draws on empirical research from legal and socio-cultural perspectives examining Intellectual Property issues in artist labour markets, along with research in the field of Competition Law in the context of multisided platforms.