Audiovisual

FKOVACEVIC MINISTRANTI

Streaming has become the dominant form of music consumption. The increased use of streaming services and user-generated content platforms came together with a tremendous growth in the film and audiovisual sectors. These industries produce a high volume of work and creative output in which musical performances are inserted. Such performances are mainly created by musicians who remain unidentified and uncredited. The key problem persists: performing musicians often receive insufficient to no financial compensation and remain uncredited. Most importantly, the borderless nature of digital platforms has globalized access to content but has not ensured equitable attribution or remuneration. Individual musicians have limited capacity to influence these systems.

Next to the remuneration- or the lack thereof- issue, performing musicians generally do not receive formal recognition or the moral rights associated with their contributions. In the current situation, the role of performing musicians and individual creators is hardly acknowledged. A considerable proportion of musicians operate under work-for-hire contracts, which typically exclude provisions for fair remuneration, ownership rights, or creative control.

The drafting and ratifying of the 2020 Beijing Treaty on audiovisual performances (BTAP) is a step to the right direction. Yet it is not enough per se. We advocate for international cooperation, to put in place a fair yet simple and coherent global framework to grant musicians and creative artists their due. It is time to re-write this story and demand accountability from the industries which mostly profit from the work of musicians.

The Beijing Treaty

Countries that have not signed
the Beijing Treaty

Countries that have signed
the Beijing Treaty, but not implemented

Countries that have signed
the Beijing Treaty and implemented it

  • "The ultimate use of music in AV will always be live musicians performing in front of a camera. It's the one unbeatable practice and it deserves the most fair pay of all."

    Michael Schack (e-drummer, Belgium)

  • “The DSM Directive states that musicians who contributed to the soundtrack of a film or series are entitled to fair and proportionate remuneration. Yet audiovisual streaming platforms have never paid us a single cent linked to the success of these works.”

    Christian Martin (Musician & Producer, Belgium)

  • “Opera productions are increasingly filmed, broadcast, and repurposed online, yet performers are often paid only a fee for the recording session, under buy-out terms that do not reflect ongoing use. When audiovisual versions of our work circulate globally, performers should receive fair remuneration and proper recognition for their contribution.”

    Karina Gauvin (Opera Singer, Canada)