Source Claims Spotify & Google Fund “Independent” Music Managers Forum and Featured Artist Coalition

http://thetrichordist.com/2015/06/30/breaking-source-claims-spotify-google-fund-independent-music-managers-forum-and-featured-artist-coalition/

June 30, 2015

Music Managers Forum and its sister organization The Featured Artist Coalition are two UK based organizations that purport to advocate for managers and artists. These two organizations have in the past done some excellent work for artists. But over the last few years they seem to have become the PR mouthpiece for Spotify and to a lesser extent YouTube.

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We were particularly concerned when they posted this piece which at times matches word for word press releases and comments from Spotify flacks. It also carefully creates the false impression that Taylor Swift withheld her album from Spotify, but irrationally DID NOT withhold her album from YouTube. (Swift DID withhold her album from YouTube and other free streaming platforms, she did not single out Spotify.) But mostly it was shocking to see an organization like MMF/FAC come out against an individual’s right to choose where their work appears and under what conditions. Instead MMF/FAC came out in favor of a streaming corporation’s “right” to have everyones music. I guess this is the UK version of “corporations are people.” Very odd.

Well, now we know why.

We have a high level source that is willing to confirm our long held suspicion that Spotify and Google are funding the Music Manager Forum and its dependency the UK’s Featured Artist Coalition. According to our source Spotify’s contribution is significant, ongoing “and quite a lot of money at that.”

This is very important because neither MMF nor FAC have sufficiently disclosed the financial support, yet have presented and continued to present events on Spotify and streaming AS IF THEY ARE NEUTRAL OBSERVERS. Last year MMF and FAC sponsored a round of public forums on Spotify in the US. They did another round this last month. On the flyer for last years events (see above) there is no mention that MMF and FAC are taking money from Spotify and Google.

While this non-disclosure and fake partiality is a problem, what really concerns us is that Spotify and YouTube appear to be setting the agenda now.

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Has MMF/FAC become just another in a long line of fake artist advocacy groups secretly funded by technology companies?