The objective of the initiative is "to mobiliae public opinion against the exclusion of artists from the Single Digital Market (MUD)", announced the Management of Artists' Rights (GDA), in a statement, warning that the revenues generated 'online' are 60% divided by publishers, 30% by platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music and Amazon Music, leaving only 10% for content creators.

The campaign for "fair streaming" defends that the 'online' use of the works of artists - including Portuguese - be remunerated in a fair and balanced way, in accordance with the purposes of the European copyright directive and related rights for the MUD.

Approved by the European Parliament and the European Commission in 2019, this directive remains without being transposed to Portugal, despite the fact that Brussels has already opened an infringement procedure against the Portuguese State due to the delay.

Fair pay

“With the change in habits caused by the pandemic, artists have become increasingly dependent on the digital market: if they are not paid fairly for the business they generate, they will be doomed for the future and unable to continue making music, dancing or performing”, says Pedro Wallenstein, president of GDA, the entity that manages the intellectual property rights of actors, dancers and musicians in Portugal.

This initiative aims to raise awareness of political decision-makers, artists themselves and society in general to the situation of “injustice in the streaming economy”, drawing attention to the benefits that the European directive can bring to the professional protection of artists”.

An appeal

“GDA appeals to the new Government, when proposing to the Assembly of the Republic the transposition of the MUD Directive, to guarantee two simple things: that artists who today receive little for the 'online' use of their works start to receive more, in a fair and proportionate way; and that the majority of artists, who receive nothing, start to receive rights whenever the works in which they participate generate income online”, says Pedro Wallenstein.