DCMS Archives

Draft media bill promises more British content

04/04/2023

A draft media bill promising more British content on UK media has been published by the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The principal aims of the bill are: To bring Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ under new Ofcom rules and ensure public service broadcasters’ on-demand services are easy to discover on smart TVs and streaming sticks New reforms to guarantee access to UK radio on smart speakers and cut red tape […]

Audio (excluding visual) by device share % for all adults

Smart Speakers may be forced to stream UK radio

23/10/2021

Smart Speakers may be forced to stream UK radio according to a recent report by the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). The report entitled Digital Radio and Audio Review concluded that new rules are needed to protect British radio output on smart speakers. It found that smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home are owned or accessed by a third of all UK adults and now play a central […]

UK MPs call for a ‘complete reset’ of music streaming

16/07/2021

UK MPs call for a ‘complete reset’ of music streaming to fairly reward performers and creators according to a report of the DCMS Committee into the Economics of Music Streaming. The inquiry was launched in October 2020 and received from than 300 pieces of written evidence from artists, songwriters, producers, record labels and streamers including Spotify, Amazon, Spotify and YouTube. The committee found that successful artists see ‘pitiful returns’ from streaming while some performers are frozen out […]

UK MPs launch inquiry into music streaming

18/10/2020

UK MPs launch inquiry into music streaming which will examine what economic impact music streaming is having on artists, record labels and the sustainability of the wider music industry. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the UK Parliament is now accepting evidence from interested parties and the wider public. With streaming currently accounting for more than half of the global music industry’s revenue, the inquiry will look at the business models operated by […]

UK commercial analogue radio to get 10 year extension

05/07/2020

UK commercial analogue radio to get 10 year extension to their licences when they start to expire in early 2022 according to new government plans. Media Minister John Whittingdale set out how commercial radio will be licensed over the next decade so that listeners to popular radio stations such as Classic FM and TalkSport can continue to enjoy their stations of choice for another ten years. Nearly 60% of all radio listening is now via […]