Time To Create A Global Music Policy
Revisiting the series and rethinking what's possible...
In 2023, I wrote a three-part series brainstorming what a global music policy could look like and what it would do (here are parts 1, 2 and 3). For this post, I want to return to this idea.
Now, a big question. Do we have a global music economy? To me, there are two answers to this question. The first is a resounding yes, as access to music is global - whether online, in your local community or everywhere in between. But what about accessing the economic benefits of music? Is that available everywhere (i.e., in every single country)? The answer to that, in my opinion, is no. Therefore, what does that say about the first question? Is the answer to it, in the end, no? Or not really?
What if the second answer to the question was, indeed, yes? That would mean that no matter where you lived, what you looked like or your culture, religion or background if you chose to pursue music, you’d have a fair shot at it like anyone else.
If that was the case, what impact would that have? Would it have downstream community, interpersonal or mental health benefits? Would it help pay more rent or bills? If you believe the answer to this is also yes, then we agree - and I want to work to make this happen.
If you’ve read my work, you know I have previously dedicated posts to this idea, but I believe I’ve scratched the surface, so I intend to focus on it more in the coming weeks and months. Enhancing access to music and other arts and culture as an economic asset can improve communities. But we need to understand what that means, how we get there, what’s possible (and importantly, what isn’t) and where we go from here. So, intermittently, this will be the focus of Making Places Better over the next weeks and months.
First, some hard truths. There is no right to earn from music. If no one listens, so be it. At the same time, music is one of the few industries where supply has little correlation to demand (a lesson I learned from the brilliant Will Page). I don’t know any other industry that oversupplies at the rate that music does. Anyone, everywhere, has the opportunity to upload music online. Access is good, but oversupply diminishes economic return for suppliers. Few will succeed. It is what it is, and some musicians (such as myself) are - frankly - not good enough.
But right now, we live in a world where it doesn’t matter how good you are in many places because there isn’t an opportunity to turn that talent into an income in the first place. This is due to a variety of reasons - historical, cultural, racial, and colonialist - as well as political incompetence, greed, ignorance, poverty and bad policy. In many countries, the appreciation of music is disassociated from understanding how it works and, therefore, how it functions as an economic good and how much money it could make as a result. Correlations are ignored - for example, the relationship between music education and having pop stars for the future - because access to music remains, and there is always an oversupply.
When you live in a country that recognises what you do as an economic good (therefore, it has policies and classifications that recognise it as work, mandate it is paid for, taxed, and so on), little thought goes into realising the privilege this framework exists within. In most countries - far and wide, the majority of where humanity lives - for music (and other art forms such as visual arts or design), this is not the case. I live in a country that has, for over a century, recognised music as an industry, and therefore, I am in a privileged position. This means there’s a legal framework and a set of norms that, in general, are abided by. When music is listened to (for the most part) - no matter how, where and in what capacity - a royalty is paid to the owner of the composition and the folks who contributed to creating it. When music is publicly broadcast, a payment is made (however small). Music education is offered as part of general curricula (even if that could be improved). Programs and policies are dedicated to music’s role in health care, the cultural nighttime economy, commercial business districts… and so on. Words - such as '‘music industry’ mean something. It is part of national statistical classifications as a job (or group of jobs). These systems may have challenges, but they are there.
Now, what if they aren’t there? That means there is no recognition of music - and the jobs within it - as jobs. Therefore, there’s no need or will to pay for music across its supply chain. Yet the supply remains. Music will still be composed, enjoyed and consumed every day. People will still go out at night and enjoy music. Life, with music, goes on.
Yet, does that mean that the music being made in those places - by talented, driven, creative people - is any less valuable? Economically, the answer is yes. However, does it matter less to those enjoying it? I would argue that no, it doesn’t. If the legal frameworks, enforcement of them and, importantly - recognition that this is something we should care about - are not there, what happens to the music? Culturally, very little. Economically, quite a lot.
Do you think this is a problem worth fixing? Do we care enough? The first step of a global music policy framework is to ensure everyone answers these questions with a resounding YES. Right now, that would not be the case.
So, what if music were a truly global industry in all its forms and functions? How many more artists would be discovered? Could it improve livelihoods and healthcare outcomes? Could it help address crises and disinformation by providing a path for people to communicate with and understand each other better? Could it be a tool to address the climate emergency? Could it improve educational outcomes or promote economic development in emerging markets? Can it make us happier? Live longer, healthier? Or is this all hogwash?
You may think I’m naive, and that’s perfectly fine. For you, music might be what you use to unwind after work. It may not be work for you. But imagine living without it? Take a second and think about that. How would you feel?
We must concentrate more on enhancing what we all share and making it more resilient: the land we walk upon, the water we consume, the air we inhale, what we pull out of the ground, the food we eat and the culture we collectively create, savour, and disseminate. If we neglect any of these, where are we heading? (I think you know the answer to that) So what is music’s role? Well, first, we need a policy to define that.
So, over the next few weeks/ months, I will share more thoughts on what is possible. Let’s reimagine and refocus on what a global music policy could do. If not now, then when?