What's the UK's problem with major record companies? (Talking Trends)
Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Trends, the weekly podcast from Music Business Worldwide – where we go deep behind the headlines of two major news stories affecting the entertainment industry.This week, host Louise Porter and MBW founder Tim Ingham discuss a hostile regulatory environment for the major record companies in the UK market.On Tuesday (October 19), the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced it was launching a unilateral "market study" into streaming, and the market power wielded by the majors.That study follows a damning report on the majors from UK politicians earlier this year – and takes place as the CMA also investigates Sony Music's acquisition of AWAL.Also on this episode: Music publishers and composers are gearing up for a fierce legal battle with 'Big Tech' over the royalty rates that streaming services pay songwriters in the US. Porter and Ingham discuss what the likely defining arguments of this clash will be – and the numbers that show why songwriters are the least-well-paid element of the music industry today.Talking Trends is supported by Voly Music, the new bespoke financial management platform for people in the music business.