Sally Yoon is an IPilogue Writer, IP Innovation Clinic Fellow, and a 3L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

What did your look like this year? As music streaming services grow in popularity, more people have included them as part of their daily lives. On November 29th, The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) released its of its market study into music and music streaming. According to the report, streaming services are the primary method of music distribution for labels and artists, with 39 million active users and over 138 billion streams in the UK in 2021. Moreover, competition between music streaming services and the digitization of the market improved consumer outcomes greatly, though creators still had concerns about their earnings from streaming.

Falling subscription fees, benefits for emerging artists

Music streaming services have evolved to significantly benefit consumers in today's market. These services offer consumers access to an enormous catalogue of music, better audio quality, and new features, without the price tag. In fact, the report reveals that the price of music streaming plans dropped more than 20% between 2009 and 2021 because they did not keep up with inflation.

The music streaming market is also showing some positive results for creators, especially new artists. First, virtually anyone can share their music. Although the market is highly competitive, it has never been easier to create and record music and share it on streaming services. Secondly, deal options for creators are improving. Although creators do not necessarily need a label to share their music on streaming services, many of them are finding that they have more options in what type of deal they would prefer (for example, DIY distribution, A&L services, traditional record deals). Moreover, artists find that having an existing prominent following online helps them while negotiating a record deal. Major contracts with new artists for multi-track deals revealed more favourable terms for creators — an increase in average gross royalty rates, shorter minimum commitment periods and a reduction in the proportion of recordings owned by labels.

Average UK artist yearly streaming earnings from majors and average UK royalty rates. Source: CMA analysis of data from the majors.

Challenges call for broader policy debate, not competition intervention

Digitization has also presented some challenges. Market digitization has primarily limited competition to already popular artists — although streaming services offer a wide selection of music, consumer tastes tend to favour a small number of successful artists. Moreover, streaming allows both new and old music to reach new audiences, increasing competition as new music competes with older music for a share of streaming revenue.

Ultimately, the report concludes that these outcomes are not primarily caused by market competition and therefore, a competition intervention probably would not increase revenues for artists. Rather, the report calls for a broader policy debate, encouraging the government to consider further legislative and policy reforms for creator compensation in collaboration with DCMS Select Committee recommendations.

Labels are urged to provide more transparency to their artists about how streaming service earnings are calculated and how existing deals with streaming services will impact their current and future earnings. In addition, government and policymakers should examine options available to incentivize songwriting, such as determining a fair split between publishing and recording shares and exploring the licensing rates for music streaming. Future conversations revolving around these issues are critical, as the sustainability of the music streaming market depends on consumers and creators alike.

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Sally Yoon is an IPilogue Writer, IP Innovation Clinic Fellow, and a 3L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Many people have voiced their concerns about the abysmally low rates for ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) and OW (Ontario Works). In response, Ontario NDP MPPs have taken it upon themselves to conduct a to better understand the challenges that some of Ontario’s most vulnerable residents face. However, in addition to the low rates, some social assistance applicants and recipients are facing technological hurdles due to or “modernization,” an initiative led by the province to promote employment and independence for those on social assistance.  

The rationale for change is that our social assistance systems’ processes are “too bureaucratic, too paper-heavy" and “focused on enforcement and technical aspects” rather than on the activities that would actually contribute to independence for those relying on social assistance. To tackle these issues, modernization proposes “more digital and self-serve options” to allow for faster decision making and a more streamlined experience for those applying to or on social assistance. As encouraging as this sounds, digitization of social assistance services has unfortunately left many behind.

Lower income and less likely to own computers

Persons with disabilities tend to have than persons without a disability, often making costs for digital devices or connectivity services burdensome. of 1502 US adults, those with a disability were less likely to own a desktop or laptop computer than those without a disability. “Some people with low incomes have inconsistent access to internet or phone. When there’s an emphasis on digitized services, some folks won’t be able to access the benefits and the services that they are entitled to,” said Sara Ageorlo, a staff lawyer at . Sara mainly assists clients with their social assistance matters and observes the technological challenges they face on a regular basis. 

She exclaimed that some clients also find it challenging to set up their online account on , an online service that allows OSDP and OW recipients to check payments and communicate with their caseworkers. Additionally, the emphasis on applying online negatively affects newcomers, who often face a language barrier and are unaware of a lot of the free services available to assist them. With the push toward digitization, more clients may feel helpless because they believe there is no one to ask questions to or to tell them whether they are submitting the right information.

“We’re talking about people with low income, they’re busy to make ends meet … it should be easier for folks in those positions.”

Encouraging access to alternatives and education

Sara strongly believes that individuals who can’t access digital services should have alternatives, with a particular emphasis on obvious alternatives. Alternative options should not have to be searched for – they should be made obvious, instead of being hidden in separate links or tabs. Moreover, online applications should also avoid discouraging applicants from applying for benefits they may be entitled to – this is the case when applicants see pop-up messages indicating their ineligibility after choosing an option on a drop-down menu. To ensure user friendliness, these digital services should also be developed in consultation with those who will be using them. Moreover, there must be an emphasis on workshops that will introduce applicants to this new platform and help with the integration process. Government programs that recognize the digital literacy issue within specific communities, such as the , which will invest $17.6 million to promote digital literacy skills among Canadians who face barriers to participating in the digital economy, represent a crucial step towards closing in on the digital divide between those with and without disabilities.

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Aaron Dishy is an IPilogue Writer and a 3L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Pope Francis’ “” followed the spiritual leader during a week-long trip across Canada. He apologized on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church (the “Church”) for abuse that Indigenous children and communities endured (and ) at church-run residential schools. The tour, and the it garnered, confronted Indigenous and Settler Canadians with the ongoing relevance of that Church in informing the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Legal professionals acting on behalf of residential school survivors and their communities may require awareness of the primary sources that drive Church action. Those documents are collected, digitized, and (on some occasions) made accessible by the (“VAL”) and its affiliated . Their digital collections encompass millions of manuscripts, printed materials, incunabula, visual materials, and photographs. Although only a small fraction of those records are publicly available - with many records considered - the capacity to navigate those resources may be valuable for legal context and understanding for afflicted individuals and communities. 

In-house digitization began at VAL with the launch of the in 2010. This project looks to digitize VAL’s entire manuscript collection, as well as 80,000 Church codices within 40 million scanned records. Those records are archived for long-term preservation using the and for metadata preservation. VAL’s digitized manuscripts are then organized by fond - archival-speak for a subcollection. Some fonds, such as the “”, are brought from collections by smaller libraries and archives within the overall Papal organization. Others, such as “” are donated by persons external to VAL.

Apart from the digital records made available on , databases outside of the Church also play an important role in navigating VAL’s records. For example, thousands of Latin manuscripts are digitized and made accessible online only through of the Heidelberg University. Similarly, the based in Frankfurt, Germany, provides comprehensive information about Vatican records that concern Roman and Feudal law. Further, founded by the late Jean-Baptiste Piggin and scholar Aaron Marks, tracks the manuscripts that are added to VAL’s digital collections each week.

Each archival effort helps to develop an increasingly comprehensive account of the documentary heritage of the Church and its detrimental impact on diverse spiritual communities. Legal professionals would be wise to harness these resources when helping individuals and communities understand their own history with the Church.

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