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Deezer is campaigning to launch a pilot of a user-centric payment system (UCPS) in France by early 2020. Providing the system is approved by labels, UCPS would see the current model which distributes royalties based on market share, changed to a model which distributes money paid by fans going only to the artists each fan listens to. Deezer believes the new system will allow artists to be ‘paid fairly’ for the use of their content on its platform and has published information on its website to explain to fans how the new model works.

A statement from the MMF:

“The MMF Board feels the fundamental principle that subscription streaming money should go to the artists that the fan actually listens to sounds compelling and inherently sensible. We need more evidence to understand what the impacts of such a shift would be. That’s the great thing about this move from Deezer to trial this in the French market, it’s aiming to produce some tangible data. We can then have a more sensible and measured debate based on facts, not conjecture.”

MMF Chief Exec Annabella Coldrick wrote an article in 2018 discussing the Bulgarian Spotify Scam, which raises questions about the current royalty distribution model and how a shift to user-centric licensing could restore confidence in the economics of streaming.

Visit Deezer’s website to find out more