At the end of October, close to 90 composers and songwriters from around the world traveled to Budapest to discuss a contentious issue: streaming services’ efforts to upend how composers are compensated for their work
) started an online initiative called Your Music, Your Future, to educate their peers about their rights to their music. To date, it has attracted more than 3,700 signatories.
Still, it says these agreements aren't mandatory. "It is not true," says Netflix spokesman Jonathan Bing, that for composers to work on a Netflix production "their only choice is to sign a direct license." Composers from other countries, especially continental Europe and Britain, have stronger copyright protections than the U.S. and other parts of the world, but sources say those rights are now being tested as well. Netflix music executives have been meeting with music industry organizations across the continent and in the United Kingdom to address differences in contracts and compensation models.
One global artist rights organization, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, or CISAC, has been studying the legal ramifications of buyout contracts, and refers to them as "exploitation." CISAC’s president, French composer Jean-Michel Jarre, wrote earlier this year, "In this struggle, we face giant opponents -- the Goliaths of the tech world."
Composers say that if buyouts became standard in the industry, it would greatly affect their earning potential. Composers’ pay is typically broken into at least two components: an initial upfront fee for their time writing a score or theme song; and the cost of producing the music. The average fee for a one-hour network show could be as high as $277,500 in the first season, according to the latest edition of, by music lawyers Todd and Jeff Brabec.
Industry sources say royalty fees range from as much as $300 a minute for a 15-minute score on a network show to as low as six cents a minute for shows streaming on Netflix.with Lester Holt and the late Anthony Bourdain’s Travel Channel series, says he has made the "vast majority" of his income through royalties on a handful of hit shows.
ESPN has long bought out composers’ copyrights, paying no royalties, according to composers and lawyers. But these buyouts are considered less of an issue because the Walt Disney Company-owned cable sports network uses mostly stock library music and typically does not have reruns. But while Amazon and Hulu self-report how many times a show is streamed, Netflix does not. With the rare exception of major hits such as, where viewership is released to the media, lawyers and agents say that Netflix reports only that an episode or film streamed once, even if it was streamed by millions.
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