Featured Artists' Coalition
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The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) is a
nonprofit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
 set up to protect the rights of featured musical artists, particularly in the new
digital age The Information Age is a History by period, historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on info ...
. It encourages a greater connection between fans and artists and aims to promote transparency in the
music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
specifically to the benefit of the artists themselves. It is a UK based organization, founded in early 2009,
lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...
and campaigning for the rights of featured artists (i.e. 'the musicians and bands whose names are on the cover of the record' as distinct from
session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
s). It was formed by a number of high-profile artists as a reaction to the conventional stance by the music industry that saw artists as not constituting an organised body and so often not possessing direct control over their own work. The FAC's aim is to not only promote the rights of established artists, but also to support those of the up-and-coming featured artists and young emerging acts who are not familiar with the industry or their own rights. The FAC aims to provide a direct campaigning voice for featured artists, both established and new, on commercial issues (such as the deals done between major
content provider A value-added service (VAS) is a popular telecommunications industry{{cite web, url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/global_mobile_value_added_services_vas_market_worldwide_industry_share_investment_trends_growth_size_strategy_and_forecast_research_ ...
s and
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
s) and policy issues (such as
copyright term The copyright term is the length of time copyright subsists in a work before it passes into the public domain. In most of the world, this length of time is the life of the author plus either 50 or 70 years https://w.wiki/ETPJ. Length of copyright ...
extension and
anti piracy Anti may refer to: Arts, entertainment, media *ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival, a yearly international live-art festival held in Kuopio, Finland *Anti-ship (often shortened to just "anti"), a position held in Shipping discourse Music *Anti- ...
measures).


Membership

The directors of the board include
Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...
,
Dave Rowntree David Alexander De Horne Rowntree (born 8 May 1964) is an English musician, politician, solicitor, composer and animator. He is best known as the drummer for the rock band Blur (band), Blur. In his political career, Rowntree served on the Norf ...
of Blur,
Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He has been the only constant member since the band's formation in 1965, and the only member to appear on every ...
of
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
,
Ed O'Brien Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968) is an English guitarist, songwriter, and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB. O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he formed Radiohead ...
of
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
,
Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English musician and actress from North Harrow. Her singles "Foundations (song), Foundations" (2007) and "Do-Wah-Doo" (2010) charted at numbers 2 and 15 on the UK singles chart and her albums ''Made of Bri ...
, Hal Ritson of
The Young Punx The Young Punx are an English electronic dance music group whose eclectic and energetic style encompasses French house, breakbeat and drum and bass, mashed up with elements as diverse as 1980s pop, rock, disco and jazz. The Young Punx's musi ...
, Howard Jones,
Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, retired astronaut, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Arizona, a seat he ha ...
of
Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...
,
Sandie Shaw Sandra Ann Goodrich (born 26 February 1947), known by her stage name Sandie Shaw, is a retired English pop singer. One of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s, she had three UK number one singles with "(There's) Always Some ...
,
Master Shortie Theo Jerome Kerlin (born 7 May 1989) is a British MC who is credited by his stage name Master Shortie. He is also a singer and has established his own record label, Odd One Out. He was included in the Sound of 2009 poll. Early life Kerlin i ...
, Lucy Pullin of The Fire Escapes,
Ross Millard Ross Millard (born 22 July 1982) is an English musician and graphic designer, best known as guitarist and vocalist in The Futureheads. The band released their self-titled debut album in September 2004; their second album '' News & Tributes'' fo ...
of
The Futureheads The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David "Jaff" Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and brothers Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums) ...
, Fran Healy of
Travis Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters *Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Travis (surname), a list of people Places in the United States *Travis, Staten Island, a neighborhood *Travis Air Force Base, a ...
, Crispin Hunt of
Longpigs Longpigs were an English indie rock band who rose to fame on the fringe of Britpop in the 1990s, comprising Crispin Hunt (vocals, guitar), Richard Hawley (guitar), Simon Stafford (bass guitar) and former Cabaret Voltaire member Dee Boyle (dru ...
, Rumer, Paul Pacifico, Roxanne de Bastion and
Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...
. Membership of the FAC is broad and includes featured artists such as
Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
,
Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...
,
Little Boots Victoria Christina Hesketh (born 4 May 1984), known professionally as Little Boots, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ. She was previously a member of the band Dead Disco. Since performing as a solo artist, she has released four albums: ''H ...
,
Badly Drawn Boy Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show '' The Magic Ball'', which he saw on TV ...
, Sia,
Amy Studt Amy Jane Studt (, born 22 March 1986) is a British singer, songwriter and musician from London. Growing up in a musical family, with her father a violinist and conductor who had toured with Roy Orbison, and her mother a pianist, Studt began wri ...
,
The Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious ...
,
Kevin Hewick Kevin Hewick (born 4 February 1957) is an English singer-songwriter who was an early member of the Factory Records roster. Today he is known for his recordings on Sorted, Pink Box and his own Botheration label, and his work with Venetian collec ...
and many others.


Changing Industry

In the past it was normal that the musical artist would sign away their rights to a
record company "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...
for a contracted number of years and/or
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
s. This resulted in the record label having almost complete control over the artist and their promotion for the duration of the
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
. However, since the recent and sudden impact of the
digital age The Information Age is a History by period, historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on info ...
on music and on the distribution of music, artists have not only come closer to their audience, but further from the profit due to their lack of representation at the negotiating table. Because of this inequality, FAC has tried to ensure that featured musical artists are central in these deals and receive a fair share of the profits. Bands such as
Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...
and
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
paved the way for such thinking. In 1999, Marillion decided to turn down offers of a recording contract with an independent label and contacted their fans by email to ask them if they would be prepared to pay for the band's next album in advance. This successful venture enabled the band to retain the rights to their own music instead of being forced to surrender their rights to a label in the traditional way. Radiohead released their 2007 album ''
In Rainbows ''In Rainbows'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a download, followed by a retail release internationally through XL Recordings on 3 December 2007 and in North America t ...
'' as an online digital download and let fans choose how much to pay for it. However, despite the vast sums of money being made by websites such as iTunes Store and
Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
, the artists themselves receive little or none of the revenues. This provided incentive for the formation of FAC to help reshape the organisation of the music industry and provide a means for featured musical artists to profit directly from their own work. Against the backdrop of dramatic falls in record sales in recent years this is seen as a crucial means by which artists can potentially make a living off their own work and create viable policies for the future of the industry. Equally, FAC has stressed the importance of not criminalising the ordinary fan for digital downloads and instead would rather focus developing alternative forms of revenue.


Campaign stance and key demands

The FAC has taken a markedly different stance from the 'traditional music industry' on several key issues such as
copyright term The copyright term is the length of time copyright subsists in a work before it passes into the public domain. In most of the world, this length of time is the life of the author plus either 50 or 70 years https://w.wiki/ETPJ. Length of copyright ...
extension and, in particular,
online piracy Online piracy or software piracy is the practice of downloading and distributing copyrighted works digitally without permission, such as music, movies or software. History Nathan Fisk traces the origins of modern online piracy back to similar ...
where the FAC has argued against 'criminalizing fans' through prosecuting not for profit file sharing of music. It lists the following six as its key demands: * "An agreement by the music industry that artists should receive fair compensation whenever their business partners receive an economic return from the exploitation of the artists' work." * "All transfers of copyright should be by license rather than by assignment." * "The 'making available' right should be monetized on behalf of featured artists and all other performers." * "Copyright owners to be obliged to follow a 'use it or lose it' approach to the copyrights they control." * "The rights for performers should be improved to bring them more into line with those granted to authors (songwriters, lyricists and composers)." * "A change to copyright law which will end the commercial exploitation of unlicensed music purporting to be used in conjunction with 'critical reviews' and abusing the UK provisions for 'fair dealing'." It has also worked in concert with the
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...
and the
Music Producers Guild The Music Producers Guild (MPG) (UK) promotes and represents individuals in the music production and recording professions. It was founded in 2000. As a guild, the organisation has no political party affiliation. The organisation presents the Mu ...
in campaigns to protect rights of performers and musicians and for "artists to have more control of their music and a much fairer share of the profits".


Events

The FAC was launched at
Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...
on 11 March 2009. On 24 September 2009, an open meeting for featured artists was held at
Air Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...
. The inaugural Artist and Manager Awards was held in conjunction with the MMF at the Roundhouse in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
's
Chalk Farm Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north west London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden. History Manor of Rugmere Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentio ...
on 13 September 2011, at which
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
and
Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass, bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (British musician), B ...
performed.
Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...
won the Artists' Artist Award,
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
won the Award for Breakthrough Artist and Everybody's Management and its artists won the Achievement Award, the highest accolade of the night. The Artist and Manager Awards 2012 was held at the Troxy on 27 November 2013. Winners included Amanda Palmer for Industry Pioneer and Zane Lowe for Industry Champion. Artist awards were given to Madeon and Plan B and Ben Howard's manager, Owain Davies was awarded the Breakthrough Manager award. Spotify sponsored the event and awarded a ten thousand pound grant to a promising artist and manager partnership. The winners were manager Danny Blackman and act, Pale Seas.


References

{{reflist


External links


Featured Artists Coalition websiteThe FAC on Twitter
Music organisations based in the United Kingdom