Swedish musicians set for YouTube windfall
Sweden's biggest music copyright management organization has struck a landmark deal with YouTube that will allow Swedish artists to get a cut when their music is played on the video-streaming mammoth.
Sweden's 90-year-old society for songwriters, composers, and music producers, the Swedish Performing Rights Society (Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå - Stim) has made a deal with YouTube to allow its 75,000 members access to money through YouTube.
"We're excited that we've struck a deal with the largest entertainment platform of today, and it's almost to the month on our 90th birthday," Stim spokeswoman Karin Jihde told The Local.
"It's taken a long time to come to an agreement on terms and conditions, but now both parties are happy, and it's been very important for us to represent our members and to make a deal that was fair and based on what the market is doing."
While Jihde said she could not put an exact figure on how much the song creators will earn, she explained that members will earn money based on a video's popularity.
"It depends on how much their music is played and how much YouTube makes in connection with their content. It's hard to tell how much each individual will make exactly, it's all dependent on the consumer use," Jihde said.
Stim concentrates on the "creators" of music, meaning their members are the people behind the music such as the songwriters, publishers, and composers, and Jihde was quick to praise Sweden's rich history in the industry.
See also: Paul Connolly on why Swedish pop is the best in the world
"I think it's fantastic how Sweden has songwriters on the top of the billboard charts across the world week after week. And it's not just the hits, we have some great composers who are succeeding too, our members really are across all the genres," she said.
And Stim, which has a free membership for music creators, looked set to carry on in the same direction.
"We see it as a milestone that we got this deal right when we turned 90. Our mission to songwriters hasn't changed at all," she told The Local.
"Our task is to ensure composers are getting paid when their music is played. Collecting that money has become a whole different ball game as everything becomes digital, but we're really excited to be part of the challenge."
Oliver Gee
Comments
See Also
Sweden's 90-year-old society for songwriters, composers, and music producers, the Swedish Performing Rights Society (Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå - Stim) has made a deal with YouTube to allow its 75,000 members access to money through YouTube.
"We're excited that we've struck a deal with the largest entertainment platform of today, and it's almost to the month on our 90th birthday," Stim spokeswoman Karin Jihde told The Local.
"It's taken a long time to come to an agreement on terms and conditions, but now both parties are happy, and it's been very important for us to represent our members and to make a deal that was fair and based on what the market is doing."
While Jihde said she could not put an exact figure on how much the song creators will earn, she explained that members will earn money based on a video's popularity.
"It depends on how much their music is played and how much YouTube makes in connection with their content. It's hard to tell how much each individual will make exactly, it's all dependent on the consumer use," Jihde said.
Stim concentrates on the "creators" of music, meaning their members are the people behind the music such as the songwriters, publishers, and composers, and Jihde was quick to praise Sweden's rich history in the industry.
See also: Paul Connolly on why Swedish pop is the best in the world
"I think it's fantastic how Sweden has songwriters on the top of the billboard charts across the world week after week. And it's not just the hits, we have some great composers who are succeeding too, our members really are across all the genres," she said.
And Stim, which has a free membership for music creators, looked set to carry on in the same direction.
"We see it as a milestone that we got this deal right when we turned 90. Our mission to songwriters hasn't changed at all," she told The Local.
"Our task is to ensure composers are getting paid when their music is played. Collecting that money has become a whole different ball game as everything becomes digital, but we're really excited to be part of the challenge."
Oliver Gee
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.