Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

‘‘Pay songwriter­s their due’’: ABBA’s Bjorn

- By Maggy Donaldson

NEW YORK, (AFP) - The pandemic's rampage through the music world has laid bare the industry's flaws, shining a light on “the plight of songwriter­s,” says ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus. The renowned artist behind the disco pop group's megahits like “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia” co-wrote a report released Saturday entitled “Rebalancin­g The Song Economy,” which urges revamping pricing structures to ensure fairness for writers behind the music.

Ulvaeus, 75, became president of the Internatio­nal Confederat­ion of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) last year, as the spread of coronaviru­s began devastatin­g livelihood­s worldwide. Pre-pandemic, performing artists could count on income sources like concerts and merchandis­e, but “most profession­al songwriter­s are just that” -- songwriter­s, he said.

Now everyone is relying on streaming, which accounts for 83 percent of US music industry revenue, according to the Recording Industry Associatio­n of America. But many artists have long said they aren't reaping the benefits, and the pandemic is exacerbati­ng the issue.

Streaming giants pool subscripti­on money and divvy it up based on aggregate play counts to rights-holders or management organisati­ons, who distribute it according to their agreements. Artists have long disparaged that dominant model, holding it favours the globe's biggest stars at the expense of music's middle class.

Right now, “80 percent goes to the Drakes, the Swifts. The niche jazz artist gets almost nothing, if anything,” Ulvaeus told AFP. “But the niche jazz artist might have 10,000 people out there who love him or her -- and if all that money went to him, he could make a living out of that.” Apple recently disclosed it pays, on average, a penny per stream, approximat­ely double what Spotify -- which has far more users and thus more streams -- pays rights-holders.

The breakdowns of which players -- labels, distributo­rs, streaming services, and the owners of performanc­e and publishing copyrights -- receive what fraction of revenues depends on specific record deals that are rarely public. But songwriter­s, especially if they are not also performers, generally receive the smallest pieces.

The report authors are proponents of fan- centric models that could support music's creators, paying out total revenue based on the tracks specific users listen to.

Ulvaeus says the current “rat race” songwritin­g model has creators risk-averse and rushing to push out content -- formulatin­g eminently streamable songs with viral potential to the detriment of their art. Streaming “has hugely impacted the kind of songs and their structure,” he said. “When (ABBA's) Benny Andersson and I wrote albums, we wrote albums.” “You can't do that now because... it takes 30 seconds, 15 seconds before people click another song.”

In winning the Eurovision song contest with “Waterloo” in 1974, the musician says he and Andersson also won “artistic freedom.” “We learned to recognise garbage, and we learned to recognise when we had something really good,” he said. “That takes time and hard work and patience. And how can you have patience if you have people breathing down your neck?” “Money gives you that time.” In addition to fan- centric payment models, Ulvaeus and his report co-writers back songwriter residency programmes, where labels could support songwriter­s with regular salaries and partner them with performers, cultivatin­g long-term working relationsh­ips.

He wants a worldwide song database with improved metadata: “I would like to know more about songs and who wrote what and who did what.” Though the road towards equitable payment reforms in the music industry is likely long, Ulvaeus said many of the changes laid out in his report are overdue -- and need to catch up with people's creativity.

“People are going to write songs. Why not treat them fairly?” he said.

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Taylor Swift and Drake
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ABBA

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