What's the UK's problem with major record companies? (Talking Trends)

<p>Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Trends, the weekly podcast from Music Business Worldwide – where we go deep behind the headlines of two major news stories affecting the entertainment industry.<br/><br/>This week, host Louise Porter and MBW founder Tim Ingham discuss a hostile regulatory environment for the major record companies in the UK market.<br/><br/>On Tuesday (October 19), the UK&apos;s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced it was launching a unilateral &quot;market study&quot; into streaming, and the market power wielded by the majors.<br/><br/>That study follows a damning report on the majors from UK politicians earlier this year – and takes place as the CMA also investigates Sony Music&apos;s acquisition of AWAL.<br/><br/>Also on this episode: Music publishers and composers are gearing up for a fierce legal battle with &apos;Big Tech&apos; over the royalty rates that streaming services pay songwriters in the US. <br/><br/>Porter and Ingham discuss what the likely defining arguments of this clash will be – and the numbers that show why songwriters are the least-well-paid element of the music industry today.</p><p>Talking Trends is supported by <a href='https://www.volymusic.com/'>Voly Music</a>, the new bespoke financial management platform for people in the music business.</p>