After a three year campaign to highlight the woeful lack of credit information within the digital domain, recognizing recording professionals’ input, the Music Producers Guild is delighted to accept support from the USA where The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing has now launched its own initiative to find solutions to this growing problem.
The MPG’s on-going Credit Where Credit Is Due campaign focuses attention on this issue and has already achieved some success – most notably through its work with PPL on drafting the Eligible Studio Producers Form that provides evidence of a studio producer’s performance at the time of recording, and through the efforts of the MPG’s Mastering Group, which worked with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to create an industry standard for embedding ISRCs within digital music files.
Both of these initiatives are significant breakthroughs for all recording professionals. The new Eligible Studio Producers Form make it easy for producers to prove the contribution they have made by archiving credits at the end of a recording session, while the EBU ISRC initiative makes accurate file identification and content tracking much easier. Both developments will help royalty agencies create more precise systems for payments, thereby safeguarding the incomes of all artists and copyright owners.
The decision by The Recording Academy, the organization internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards, to launch Give Fans the Credit reinforces the efforts made by MPG and is therefore thoroughly endorsed by the organisation.
Give Fans the Credit will help enhance fans’ discovery of new music by ensuring all music creators are credited for their work on digitally released recordings. The overall goal is to ensure that all music creators receive proper credit for their work by creating a technical solution that will standardize recording metadata in an effort to improve the flow of crediting information – something that the P&E Wing had been striving to achieve for several years.
Producer and MPG member, Tommy D, who is spearheading the MPG’s Credit Where Credit Is Due initiative, says: “In this digital age, it is almost impossible to find out who produced a specific track or album, who engineered it or even which musicians played on it because there is no unified database of credit information relating to music production, performances and mastering. 98% of the record producers surveyed by the MPG expressed support for a unified database and believe this information should be incorporated as metadata and accessible to listeners of all future digital mediums. We are delighted that The Recording Academy is launching Give Fans the Credit as it adds weight to our own efforts and indicates serious international support for solving this problem.”
The Recording Academy’s campaign has the backing of a number of Honorary Ambassadors who will help further awareness of this important initiative. These include 12-time GRAMMY-winning producer T Bone Burnett; GRAMMY-winning songwriter Lamont Dozier; singer/songwriter/percussionist Sheila E; singer/songwriter Skylar Grey; five-time GRAMMY-winning producer/songwriter Jimmy Jam; two-time GRAMMY-winning producer/songwriter RedOne and three-time GRAMMY-winning producer Don Was.
Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy, says: “The staggering pace of digital innovation gives consumers access to more and more information, but in this case — digitally released music without liner notes — the music fan is getting less information. We can watch movies online with the credits included, and the same should be true for digitally released recordings. If music devices can access millions of tracks in the cloud, we’re confident we can find a way to acknowledge those who created the tracks here on Earth.”
Give Fans the Credit will address this issue on several fronts. First, music fans who want information about their favorite tracks can sign the petition at www.givefansthecredit.com. Second, the campaign ambassadors and other leaders at The Recording Academy will begin a series of discussions with digital music services to brainstorm ways to deliver more robust crediting information on digital music platforms. At the same time, The Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing will continue its efforts to ensure accurate data is contained within the music files.
“By engaging consumers and the industry in this effort, we seek to give music fans the rich information and content they desire,” said Daryl Friedman, Chief Advocacy & Industry Relations Officer for The Recording Academy. “Discovery is a key part of today’s digital music services. By knowing who wrote, produced and played on the tracks, consumers will be able to discover even more great music. This will give both creators and fans the credit they deserve.”
For more information about Credit Where Credit Is Due please visit www.creditisdue-mpg.co.uk where you will also find a link to the Give Fans the Credit website and online petition.
For more information about the Eligible Studio Producer’s form, its benefits, how to access it and how to submit the completed form to PPL, go to www.ppluk.com/studioproducers – where you will also find a video giving the views of producers and artists.
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About Music Producers Guild (UK):
The Music Producers Guild (UK) is an independent and democratic organisation that encourages the highest standards of music production, and actively engages with other music industry organisations to campaign and lobby on matters of important mutual interest.
The MPG represents and promotes the interests of all those involved in the production of recorded music, including producers, engineers, mixers, re-mixers, programmers and mastering engineers. www.mpg.org.uk
