The Future of Music Coalition estimated that the major labels may have to hand over $2 billion in extra royalties to heritage acts if they lost the cases. The Dixie Chicks put it more simply in their claim against Sony– calling the royalties and accounting process “systematic thievery”.

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Has the digital age been good to musicians? That bombshell question was recently asked by the New York Times in its cover magazine story, “The Creative Apocalypse That Wasn’t,” written by Steven Johnson. The article received a lot of blowback from many working musicians. Here in Allegro, we’re pleased to publish a rebuttal to the article by our friends at the Future of Music Coalition. But let’s cut to the chase. For our members, the issues that we care about in the digital domain are very basic:

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Here the people at the Future Of Music Coalition speak with Sharky Laguana of the band Creeper Lagoon about his recent piece entitled “Streaming Music is Ripping You Off” in which he criticizes streaming services for their use of the “Big Pool” method of royalty distribution.

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Is the idea that musicians should be allowed to participate fully in our country’s economy unrealistic? I hope not; though—barring the introduction of a completely new economy that treats musicians as valuable members of society­—I believe it will require a sea change. We will need to demystify the music industry and the nitty gritty of what it means to be a professional musician. We need: read more

This problem not only frustrates artists and rights holders. It frustrates technology firms and others that might build a business that could compete in a growing streaming music marketplace. According to a study done by Berklee ICE, even with unlimited resources, it takes at least 18 months to obtain all the licenses necessary for a streaming music service that will have all the songs consumers expect.

Casey Rae, the interim director of the Future of Music Coalition, told an audience Friday that adding more transparency and improving outcomes for rights holders as well as for businesses was “impossible without top-shelf data management.” read more