A new report issued by the government’s Intellectual Property Office has underlined the challenge of data management for the music industry.
Music 2025: The Music Data Dilemma was based on research carried out by Ulster University and reflects the views of dozens of UK-based music industry representatives.
According to the report, the continuing data issues within the industry could limit the potential of new technologies such as blockchain and AI.
The report identified problems around data interoperability and quality when shared to other parts of the data value chain. It was a subject that came up for discussion at the inaugural edition of the Music Week Tech Summit last autumn.
Tim Moss, IPO CEO (pictured), said: “The UK music industry is a global success story that provides tremendous cultural value to the UK. Consumers have access to an almost unlimited choice of musical content. With this success and breadth comes the challenge of managing the huge volumes of data created. This could include who wrote the song, where it was recorded, who played on it who owns the rights to it.
“By resolving the issues identified in the report, new technology such as standardised AI enabled data management can help join up an often fragmented industry, improve standards and deliver real benefit to music creators, performers and publishers alike.”
Graham Davies, CEO of Ivors Academy, said: “We knew there was a data problem - this report concludes that it needs urgent joined-up action if creators are going to get paid fairly and accurately. This is important now but becomes even more important as consumption of music increases online. We can and will help creators become more educated and empowered to manage their data as the report suggests, but we also invite those organisations that are paid to manage creators’ data to explain what needs to be done to solve the issues raised in the report.
“We are keen to build on the positive change already underway and support the development of an industry music data roadmap that we can report on as we move ahead.”
The recommendations include awareness of the importance of high quality data and adherence to standards, as well as greater collaboration and use of emerging technology.
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