I wanted to keep a much closer eye on the work of this parliamentary committee than I’ve ended up being able to do. No, I never thought I’d write such a sentence, either. Having three kids aged 4 and under alongside countless other things to do kinda means some things don’t happen!

Anyway, the latest from the inquiry is here. It’s about YouTube somehow trying to justify paying even more shit royalty rates than Spotify – and Spotify know everything there is to know about shit royalty rates – whilst making billions of pounds of profit every year.

This parade of self-justification by the streamers, the labels and so on is utterly tiresome. No matter what the problem, it always seems to be the fault of someone else. Then again, what do they expect when dealing with an apparatchik and stooge?

Wouldn’t it be nice, just for once, if one of these people or companies was to accept that they weren’t doing enough to compensate artists fairly in the digital age? A mea culpa goes down surprisingly well with people if it’s sincerely meant, along with a plan of what they’re going to do about it with a rough timetable.

I suspect I’m more likely to see pigs fly, aren’t I?