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MMF publishes Digital Dollar book and launches Transparency Index initiative

By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 18 January 2018

The Music Managers Forum has launched the next phase of its ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ project, putting the spotlight on transparency in the digital music space.

MMF has been working with CMU Insights for three years now to explain, analyse and debate the streaming market, helping artists, songwriters and managers navigate this complex new revenue stream. Two reports and two guides have been published in that time, and now MMF has compiled all that research into one book, ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar: Second Edition’, which can be bought from Amazon for £15.

One of the guides published as part of the ‘Digital Dollar’ project last year was ‘The Transparency Guide’, which identified the 20 pieces of data and information artists and managers need from their labels and distributors to help them fully audit and understand the streaming music business. Those 20 data points make up the ‘Transparency Index’.

MMF is now encouraging its members to assess each of the label and distributor partners they work with, identifying which of those 20 data points each business partner currently provides. The aim is to raise industry standards on label and distributor reporting to artists, and to celebrate those music companies who are most transparent.

MMF CEO Annabella Coldrick says: “The pace of change in the digital music market is incredible. Only weeks into 2018, and the industry is already buzzing with details of Spotify’s ‘direct public offering’, and new licensing deals between Facebook and major record labels and publishers. These are seismic events that will define our sector for years to come, however it is absolutely crucial that artists, songwriters and their business representatives can understand how these new partnerships are structured and how their creative works are being exploited”.

She goes on: “Unfortunately, these kind of details are often lacking, which is why the MMF launched our ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ initiative in the first place. We hope that a ‘Transparency Index’ will provide yet more impetus for improved partnerships between artists and their labels, distributors and aggregators as we look to reforge the industry around fairer and more equitable structures”.

You can access ‘The Transparency Guide’ on the MMF website here and buy the ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar: Second Edition’ book here.