Survey – Alternative Models of Music Streaming

THANK YOU!

To everyone who responded to our survey.

Resonate Co-Operative has submitted its evidence to the UK Parliament  Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry into the Economics of Music Streaming

We had a fantastic, impassioned response from our members, occasional listeners and artists and the general public everywhere.  It was quite a job to capture the great insights you provided, and to convey the strength of feeling:

Please read our full response:

DCMS inquiry Resonate response v1-1

Our focus was on question five:

“Do alternative business models exist? How can policy favour more equitable business models?”

We always knew the answer to the first part is YES, but many, especially politicians, have not yet heard the good news about co–operative streaming.

Time to educate them!

This is what we said in the executive summary:

Resonate is a proven multi-stakeholder platform co-operative in music streaming, owned by its artists, listeners and volunteers.

It has an innovative progressive pricing model which is both attractive to listeners who wish to explore new music, and provides a decent reward for artists and their music.

It is a community service, maintaining a healthy cultural ‘habitat’ essential in stimulating the creation of new music and boosting the UK creative economy.

UK Government should:

  • Promote fair competition and diversity in the streaming industry where large services would otherwise gain excessive dominance and influence
    • Set a minimum streaming rate
  • Improve access to funding for democratically-governed organisations which provide a  fairer distribution of rewards for creative work.  Insist on transparency and openness.
    • Endorse and promote co-operative streaming and reward
    • Enable suitable capital investment 
  • Consider use of co-operative streaming as an efficient and transparent channel for arts, educational and community support, able to support national, local or even global community priorities and themes.
    • Encourage engagement of co-operative streaming in community and education settings
    • Consider a direct investment in musical culture through a lightly subsidized co-operative streaming rate


UK creative industries, the bedrock of future economic recovery, are struggling with the impact of the pandemic and extended lockdown.  We believe that co-operative streaming could be a partner in rebuilding a sustainable local entertainment and distribution sector.

We also had tremendous support from Co-operatives UK.  Their CEO, Rose Marley, said:

“Streaming has become a primary way in which we listen to music, but too many artists and songwriters are currently struggling to earn income from prolific use of their music due to the way the rights are administered. It’s critical that MPs on the DCMS Select Committee find solutions. The platform co-op model, pioneered by Resonate, offers a way to reshape the economics of music streaming, so that it works better for artists, listeners and businesses. We support DCMS ambition to do more to enable innovations which will allow our music economy to thrive in the UK.

THIS IS NOT OVER…..  it is only the beginning!

We STILL need YOUR help and evidence to prove there is demand for a REAL alternative.  The inquiry process will run for some time.  The debate will continue.  We may be called to give evidence.   Don’t let this topic go cold  – we are keeping the survey open.

This survey should take 5 – 10 minutes to complete.  If you feel you need to write a lot of text in any of the response boxes, please consider pasting it into an email or text editor as you go – we can’t offer ‘save and continue’, because the survey is anonymous – we respect your privacy.

Please keep the responses coming!

  • About You

    (We don't track or record anything personally identifiable in this survey. We use these survey responses only for the purposes of our response to the enquiry and to improve Resonate.)
    (choose one)
    choose the option that fits best... or select other and explain a little
    (choose one only)
    (choose one - or select 'other' and write your own opinion)

  • You and Streaming / Music Purchase

    (check all that apply)
    (choose one only)
    (choose any / all that apply)
  • (Which did you prefer? Which was easiest? Which was 'fairest' ? Is it hard to choose whom to support? Would you prefer to donate 'as you listen'?)

  • Your Music Choices

    Tell us a little about what you look for in recorded music... not the 'genres', but....
    (check your top 3 only!)

  • Music and Community

    (choose one)

  • Value and Pricing

    The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers have proposed a minimum of $0.01 (or £0.008) per stream, overall. What do you think?
    (choose one)
    (choose your preferred options(s))
    (please check all that apply)

  • Government Policy

    Our final section is about how Government could help
    (check all that apply)
  • (please do the sum - we have to deter spam bots a little)
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

THANK YOU!

If you want to go ‘on the record’  Please write to us at members@resonate.is . Help us build a new music economy based on fairness, transparency and co-operation.

Thanks so much for your time.