UK Industry Agreement on Music Streaming Metadata Working Groups
Two expert working groups have been established to develop, support and champion practical measures to facilitate delivery of the core data set outlined in the metadata agreement.
Technical Solutions Group
The Technical Solutions Group (TSG) includes a range of industry metadata experts. The group will explore current workflows, standards and technologies and recommend how to improve them to enable delivery of the core data set as specified in the metadata agreement.
The TSG first met in September 2023 and will regularly meet during the two-year period covered by the agreement.
Initial phase metadata KPI project
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is supporting this project and has commissioned a team of consultants to help carry out the first phase of work. This team has been tasked to support the TSG by:
- cataloguing and mapping existing metadata flows
- assisting baselining and identifying meaningful and achievable key performance indicators (KPIs) to be measured at relevant points in the metadata chain, and
- assisting the creation of a gap analysis of areas of potential improvement
The consultant team has interviewed a wide and representative range of stakeholders from across the music industry to ensure different perspectives are considered and the analysis and outputs from this project are as accurate as possible.
Technical Solutions Group Membership
The current members of the Technical Solutions Group are:
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Chair: Scott Farrant
Head of Industry Affairs & Society Relations, Kobalt Music -
Alex Batterbee
Senior Director Global Administration, Sony Music Publishing -
Alex Kassner
Head of Legal and Professional Affairs, Kassner Associated Publishers -
Cameron Craig
Executive Director, Music Producers Guild -
Charlie Phillips
Interim Chief Operations Officer, The Ivors Academy -
Dave Ball
Director of Metadata Operations, Universal Music Group -
Magali Clapier
Director Publishing Operations, Spotify -
Mark Douglas
Chief Information Officer, Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) -
Mark Krajewski
Chief Information Officer, Performing Right Society (PRS for Music) -
Matt Phipps-Taylor
Chief Information Officer, peermusic -
Paul Butler
Head of Digital Supply Chain Operations, FUGA -
Paul Fisher
Head of Repertoire Operations, Integral Distribution Services -
Pip Newby
Songwriter Management, Founder, Friends Vs Music -
Robert Hill
Client Services and Operations Manager, Horus Music -
Ross Greening
Senior Vice President European Regional Administration and Global Copyright/Society Relations, Universal Music Publishing Group -
Shabir Bakhtiar
Finance and Royalties Assistant, Hospital Records -
Stephanie Ayres
Director Global Tech Rights Platforms, Sony Music -
Tom Richards
Senior Manager Content Licensing, Amazon Music -
Vicky Fry
Chief Information Officer, Beggars Group
Education Group
Education and awareness of the importance of metadata is vital for all parts of the creative value chain to enable consistent delivery of the core data set. The Education Group comprises industry stakeholders who work closely with creators and other target audiences, educators, communications specialists, and metadata experts. The group will map existing educational resources, consider strategies for maximising awareness and access, and support the development of new resources tailored to different audiences.
The Education Group first met in December 2023 and will regularly meet during the two-year period covered by the metadata agreement.
Initial phase – personas and resource mapping
The Education Group is developing ‘personas’ to identify the degree to which different audiences in the creative ecosystem manage and understand music metadata. This will clarify the educational requirements of each audience and inform the development of an engagement plan and tailored resources.
The Group has recently launched updates to the Get Paid Guide, a one-stop resource for songwriters, composers and performers outlining how to register song and track data correctly to ensure royalty payments.
Alongside this, the Group is mapping out and collating existing educational resources across the industry to determine key gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Education Group Membership
The current members of the Education Group are:
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Chair: John Mottram
Chief Strategy, Communications & Public Affairs Officer, Performing Right Society (PRS for Music) -
Alexandra Condon
Vice President, Public Policy & Government Affairs, Warner Music Group -
Andy Robinson
CEO, Interstellar Music Services -
Ben Lee
Director, Content Operations, Songtradr -
Bina Mistry
Director, Music Licensing & Partnerships, SoundCloud; Founder, music: defined -
Chloe Dagenais
Founder & Head of Product, MusicTeam -
Chloe Johnson
Chief Client Officer, Verifi Media; Metadata Co-Chair, Association for Electronic Music -
Emma Pike
Communications and Public Affairs Consultant -
Helienne Lindvall
President, European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) -
Jévis Lawson
Programme Manager, The Ivors Academy -
Lucie Caswell
Chief Innovation & Government Affairs Officer, Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA) -
Mark Sutherland
Music Industry Journalist & Consultant -
Merida Sussex
CEO, Stolen Recordings and MetaGen -
Oliver Morris
Director of Education & Skills, UK Music -
Scott Farrant
Head of Industry Affairs & Society Relations, Kobalt Music -
Stuart Fitzsimon
Senior Repertoire Development Manager, Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) -
Vanessa Bastian
Secretariat, Digital Data Exchange (DDEX)
How to get involved
If you would like to find out more about our metadata projects, please contact us at musicstreaming@ipo.gov.uk.
Sign up to the metadata agreement
If your company or organisation operates in the UK as part of the music industry and you would like to sign up to the metadata agreement, please contact us at musicstreaming@ipo.gov.uk.
Last updated 19 March 2024 + show all updates
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New members added to the Technical Solutions Members Group and new section Education Group added.
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First published.