The EU has just killed independent music with this new regulation

The mission of the regulation is entirely fair, aimed at cutting packaging waste, making goods more designed for recycling, and eliminating harmful chemicals – yet its muddy and expensive execution means small artists will be caught up, stuck in trying to appease what the EU is requiring.

Bear with me as I explain: this new regulation considers independent sellers as “producers”, with compliance requiring hiring an Authorised Representative in every single EU country. Annual fees to hire and sell across the EU can total €16,000 across all 27 member states, and there is no minimum threshold or exemption for smaller businesses. That cost is the same for Amazon as it is for a musician selling their music through online selling platforms like Bandcamp or Discogs.

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It is a grossly disproportionate burden, an unnecessary bureaucratic nightmare, that equates multinational conglomerates with small DIY artists and labels - when the end goal is to rid the EU of excessive Amazon-style packaging ostensibly. Regulation that should be focussed on the biggest wasters and polluters has instead been blanket enacted across the board, with little care for the small cultural ecosystems that once thrived across the EU single market.

There is no Authorised Representative for the whole of the bloc, instead forcing sellers to deal with 27 separate registries with different procedures and different languages. The administrative overhead in complying is a full-time job itself, forcing independent artists to become their very own international compliance officer. Far from saving the planet, the EU is only severing the cultural and financial ties that allow niche and independent music to reach fans throughout Europe.

The risks are too high to simply go under the radar and hope there is no pushback from customs. Noncompliance risks severe fines (in Germany, the fine can be up to €200,000). Large selling platforms and online shops already demand proof of compliance, but smaller platforms have still not acted yet. Likely, many sellers, musicians and labels will opt out of the EU market altogether rather than taking on the large financial hit or attempting the risk of operating outside of compliance.

The regulation inadvertently benefits the large retailers who can absorb the costs and will push small sellers to distribute through large retailers rather than independently. It helps to concentrate power within the financially sound corporate big leagues (the ones most prone to packaging waste and non-recyclable goods, despite the regulation’s intent) and eliminates small or micro businesses that may not be able to comply but do little harm in the grand scheme of waste production.

A cruel irony. What was designed to punish wasteful corporations has become a huge competitive advantage for them. It goes against the very ethos of the EU single market, where suddenly trading unity between the bloc of countries is separated into impossible, different ends.

The regulation came into effect on August 12th, and we are already seeing consequences from it. Artists on Bandcamp and independent sellers from sites like Etsy are suspending sales to the EU. Those who wish to work with this new system will be forced to increase prices to an absurd degree, stifling demand in an already oppressed physical music market.

And the general public likely won’t notice. The regulation has largely seen approval from those who believe it is only about reducing the excessive waste of Amazon et al. The streaming era and lack of intrinsic value attributed to music have already numbed society to the plight of independent artists and labels. They simply won’t realise that the PPWR is slowly strangling the life out of the very culture that they cherish until it is too late.

The new EU regulation will likely stifle demand in an already oppressed physical music market (Image: Unsplash)

The EU Commission has opened a public feedback window until September 10th. The changes that can be made to help small and independent artists while also holding huge corporations to account are easy in theory: minimum revenue threshold exemptions, single EU-wide registration, one Authorised Representative for the entire bloc.

But it will be an uphill battle. This regulation has been in the works for years, and change will be slow. If the music press and other parts of the mainstream media ignore the ramifications of this regulation, then we will see many thousands of small-time music sellers and musicians disappear from the market. We cannot let the dull ache of expensive paperwork kill off parts of culture that easily.

Derek McArthur is an artist and arts writer specialising in cinema and culture. He writes a weekly arts column for The Herald.