Advocacy

DIMA is the leading advocate for music streaming services. We champion our members’ interests around the world, with a focus on the United States, Canada, and Latin America.

We are committed to building a business environment that fosters certainty and encourages innovation, empowers music fans and ensures artists and consumers can connect seamlessly wherever and whenever they want.

Advocacy priorities include:

  • Championing the modernization of music licensing and the supply chain
  • Advocating for cooperation with artists and rights holders
  • Preserving listener and creator access to global artists and audiences
  • Seeking pro-innovation policies in the age of AI
  • Supporting efforts to improve song and recording credits
  • Upholding a strong music ecosystem

Championing Modernization of Music Licensing and the Supply Chain

Modern, efficient, and transparent licensing systems are essential to the long-term health of the music ecosystem. Streaming requires access to more rights, for more works and recordings, than any prior form of music distribution. This makes the goal of an optimized licensing and accurate royalty payments system more complex—but also more important—to achieve than ever. More artists can participate in streaming than in any earlier form of music distribution.

Advocating for Cooperation and Engagement with Artists and Rights Holders

Music streaming is a tremendous success story that has broken down geographic and cultural barriers, and empowered artists to find new audiences around the world.

DIMA’s members pay circa 70% of their revenues in the form of royalties to rights holders and work closely with creators and rights holders. Crucially, music streaming services also offer music creators a whole new level of data and insights, and ways of connecting with fans, that have not ever previously existed.

Seeking Pro-Innovation Policies in the Age of AI

As AI technology continues to evolve, it raises complex questions regarding the protection of an individual’s likeness and voice—issues that are especially pertinent to the music industry. DIMA firmly opposes any form of consumer deception or fraud, including the unauthorized use of deepfake music or impersonation within its supply chain. We believe that those who fraudulently exploit the creative identity and expression of artists should be held accountable.

Our members are deeply committed to preserving the integrity of the music ecosystem and protecting artists’ creative rights from bad actors who seek to exploit their identity and artistry for deceptive purposes.

Supporting Efforts to Improve Song and Recording Credits

All music industry stakeholders – from songwriters and producers to artists and record labels, to streaming services – and everyone in between – have a role to play in getting music metadata right, which helps ensure that royalties reliably reach the artists, songwriters, and rights holders they are owed to. Continued progress in modern licensing isn’t just a legal or operational necessity—it’s the backbone of a fair and sustainable streaming economy.

DIMA is a proud supporter of the global Credits Due initiative, focused on industry education about the importance of data, and the shared responsibility of stakeholders to ensure that accurate metadata is included at the point of creation and throughout the lifecycle of a song.

Policy Priorities

Campaigns

In September 2024, DIMA launched its first consumer-facing national campaign: ‘Scrap the Streaming Tax,’ aimed at drawing public attention to how the Online Streaming Act worsens Canada’s cost of living crisis. The campaign highlights music streaming’s critical role in Canada’s music sector—empowering Canadian creators to reach audiences at home and around the world, and helping Canada become the third largest digital exporter of music globally. Much of this success is driven by DIMA member innovation and investment, in collaboration with local teams and talent across Canada.