According to BBC news, streaming is currently the record industry's main source of income, generating more than a billion euros last year. However, for many artists the payments they receive are small change.
The investigation will begin in November and is already gathering evidence from industry experts, artists and record labels, as well as information from the platforms themselves.
£ 12 per million views
Currently, Spotify is believed to pay between £ 0,002 and £ 0,0038 per broadcast, while Apple Music pays £ 0,0059. YouTube (Google) pays the minimum, around 0,00052 pounds (or 0,05p) per broadcast.
All the money goes to the rights holders, a generic term that encompasses both large companies and independent artists who release their music before they are split.
Often, the recording artist only receives 13% of the revenue, with labels and publishers taking the rest.
In May of this year, violinist Tasmin Little said she had earned £ 12,34 for millions of shows in six months. Electronic musician Jon Hopkins once claimed he earned £ 8 for 90.000 Spotify streams.
Stories like these launched the #BrokenRecord campaign earlier this year. An initiative founded by musician Tom Gray and supported by the Musicians' Union and the Ivors Academy (which represents songwriters in the UK), called for an official investigation into the streaming market right from the start.
A YouGov survey commissioned by the #brokenrecord campaign this week found that 77% of consumers surveyed believe artists and songwriters are underpaid for streaming services.
Although the majority of people (69%) said they did not want the monthly subscription cost to increase, half of them changed their minds by being able to have more of the subscription go directly to the musicians.
In addition to the payments problem, members of Congress will investigate how playlists and algorithms distort the music market and whether new music is compromised by the dominance of big names like Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande or Drake.
The opportunity for the investigation was highlighted by the Musicians Union, which ensures that the Covid-19 pandemic "highlighted that the royalties generated by streaming are too low and the market is failing the vast majority of our subscribers".
"Most creators can't make a living on streaming rights, they just don't pay enough," adds Graham Davies, CEO of The Ivors Academy.
