Songwriters and session musicians will receive better rates of pay under a landmark deal agreed by the music industry and the government. For the first time, songwriters will get daily payments of £75, plus travel and food expenses, any time they attend a session or songwriting camp. Previously, they were expected to cover their own fees, and might only get paid when a song was released. The situation was highlighted by Raye at the 2023 Ivor Novello Awards, where she told record label bosses it was “an insult” that songwriters were expected to “work for free.” The new deal also gives session musicians a pay increase of up to 40% when they attend recording sessions. Pop musicians will see their standard fee rise from £130 to £182. Orchestral musicians will receive a smaller 15% increase – rising from £92.96 to £106.90 for a principal violinist, for example. The changes were announced by creative industries minister Sir Chris Bryant, who said he was “sick and tired of musicians having to live with paltry amounts of money” for producing songs that “everybody loves dancing to around their kitchen.”
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