Music stars call for more power

Robbie Williams is tied to record label EMI for one more album

Members of Radiohead, Blur and Pink Floyd, plus stars like Robbie Williams and Annie Lennox, are due to launch a lobby group for rock and pop artists.

Around 100 musicians are expected at the first meeting of the Featured Artists' Coalition (FAC) in London.

The group will aim to give artists a greater voice in big deals and decisions in the music industry.

Blur's Dave Rowntree said artists must "own our future, take control of our rights and genuinely work together".

Rowntree is on the committee's steering group alongside Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien, Soul II Soul's Jazzie B, Billy Bragg, Kate Nash, Marillion's Mark Kelly and hip-hop newcomer Master Shortie.

Williams, Lennox, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and singers David Gray and KT Tunstall are also expected at the meeting.

"Acting alone, artists' voices will not be heard," Rowntree said.

"Acting together, we can be a powerful force. Our rights are our power."

YouTube's row with the PRS is the most recent example of just how fast the music industry is changing Dave RowntreeBlur

The FAC says it will fight to make sure performers do not come off badly from "under the table deals between multi-national corporations".

The organisation has emerged at a time when artists are gaining power from the internet, which allows them to communicate with and sell directly to their fans.

It also comes at a time of upheaval in the industry, as music companies attempt to adapt to changing buying and listening habits, and find new ways of making money.

YouTube is currently embroiled in a row with the Performing Rights Society over how much money is paid to songwriters for the streaming of music videos.

The site has removed all premium music videos to UK users after failing to reach a new licensing agreement with the PRS.

Dave Rowntree said: "The digital revolution has swept away the old music business of the 1960s, and changed, forever, the relationship between artists and fans.

"For companies who made their living sitting between the two, these are increasingly hard times, but for music makers and music fans, this should be a fantastic opportunity.

"YouTube's row with the PRS is the most recent example of just how fast the music industry is changing. There has never been a greater need for the collective voice of featured artists, whose music generates 95% of revenue in the industry, to be properly heard."