In July 2021, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee published its report following the Inquiry into the Economics of Music Streaming, which included various recommendations to the Government.

Recommendation 18 called for “research into the impact of streaming services’ algorithms on music consumption, including where creators are forgoing royalty payments in exchange for algorithmic promotion”. In its response, the Government agreed that “there would be value in conducting further research on recommendation algorithms used by streaming services” and asked the CDEI to lead on conducting further research in this area.

The CDEI’s research includes:

• a commissioned review into existing academic research in this area;
• polling to understand consumer engagement with, and thoughts about, music streaming and music recommendation algorithms;
• a survey to understand creator engagement with, and thoughts about, music streaming and music recommendation algorithms; and
• a report, produced by the CDEI, drawing insights from the above and interviews with stakeholders from across the music ecosystem.

The CDEI’s research follows the recently published IPO commissioned research into “The Economics of streaming: Contract adjustment and Rights reversion” (see item above). The Government has also published a web page drawing together all the Government’s ongoing work addressing the key issues identified by the Inquiry, including an indicative timeline for upcoming milestones. To access the CDEI’s research, click here. To access the Government’s summary of its programme of work, click here.