Among musicians, disquiet is building – will they go on strike?

As actors and writers across the pond down tools in protest of unfair compensation and the threat posed by artificial intelligence, Will Pritchard asks why musicians facing similar challenges aren’t striking alongside them

Big names, like Swift and Sheeran, must stand in solidarity with less-powerful individuals (AFP/Getty/Invision/AP)

For almost as long as she has been writing songs, Helienne Lindvall has been fighting for the rights of songwriters. But it wasn’t until 2007 – when scriptwriters in the United States brought Hollywood to a juddering halt, buckled Daniel Craig’s stint as James Bond, and forced hours of repeats onto the air – that she realised the possibilities of taking that fight to a bigger stage.

As actors and writers in the US once again down tools over work conditions – joining train drivers, takeaway couriers, driving instructors, and university lecturers doing the same – Lindvall is feeling the momentum build. “This time,” she says, “I think the groundswell is even stronger among musicians.” She would know. As the current president of the European Composer & Songwriter Alliance, Lindvall finds herself among a number of organisations banding together for better rights for musicians and songwriters – but the list of challenges they face is not short.

In November last year, the charity Help Musicians found that as many as 80 per cent of professional musicians in the UK are struggling to meet basic living costs, and that a similar fraction is concerned they will be forced to leave the industry as a result. At the same time, the remuneration packets of their paymasters continue to bloat. So far, so familiar. The music industry has been built on the practice of players being stiffed by suits, but for some it feels like the divide has become starker in recent years. “We’re so deep into streaming, and seeing how it’s completely unsustainable for songwriters,” says Lindvall. “People are getting really fed up.” Another writer puts it more bluntly: “The dream of the independent music industry was that you just need 5,000 fans that will pay you £20 a year, they can be anywhere in the world. Now you can have hundreds of thousands of fans and you get f*** all.”