British Composers Unite to End Ghostwriting in Film, TV and Game Music

A number of leading British composers have joined The Ivors Academy’s call to “End Ghostwriting” in a campaign to ensure media composers are credited and compensated fairly for their work.

Calling for an end to the practice of ghostwriting in music for film, TV and video games – the activity of contributing creatively to a soundtrack, without a writing credit being disclosed – the academy is encouraging composers to commit to changing industry practice by signing a pledge.

Ghostwriters in these sectors often receive no screen or IMDb credit, and therefore are excluded from cue sheets, meaning they lose the royalties they are legally entitled to.

According to the academy, the three pillars of the End Ghostwriting pledge are: To be fully transparent with productions about who will compose the music; To ensure that all contributing composers are credited on cue sheets, on screen where possible, and on IMDb; To accurately submit work for awards consideration that fairly credits everyone involved in the composition.

The campaign has been backed by a series of renowned media composers and members of The Ivors Academy, including Sheridan Tongue (Silent Witness, Wonders of the Universe), David Arnold (Casino Royale, Sherlock), Aisling Brouwer (The Buccaneers, White Riot) and more.

Other names involved include Ben Foster (Happy Valley, Torchwood), Daisy Coole and Tom Nettleship (The Pay Day, The Wives), Jessica Jones (The Tinder Swindler, Our Universe), and Sofia degli Alessandri-Hultquist (Dickinson, Red, White and Royal Blue), along with Jenna Fentimen, head of agency at Manners Faber, among others.

In a press release, Roberto Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy, said: “We’re calling time on ghostwriting, where talented media composers can work on high-profile productions without ever being acknowledged. Thanks to our Media Council of composers, we’re bringing transparency, integrity and fairness back to the heart of audio-visual music. We must give composers credit where credit is due.”

David Arnold, fellow and board member of The Ivors Academy, added: “Our Industry is changing rapidly. Budgets and schedules are becoming more compressed and workloads are becoming more complicated to manage. So sometimes we need help. This campaign is here to ensure that help doesn’t go unrecognised and unrewarded. It’s only decent and it’s only fair.”

The Ivors Academy also runs the Ivor Novello Awards, which recognize excellence in songwriting and composing. The End Ghostwriting campaign will impact the 2026 edition of the event, as entrants will now also be asked to confirm that cue sheets list all composers who wrote a cue from scratch or made a significant new creative contribution. Entries that do not include all qualifying writers will be ineligible for consideration.

Elsewhere, earlier this month (Oct. 2), RAYE received an Ivors Academy Honour in recognition of her songwriting advocacy, led by a campaign that resulted in U.K. major labels committing to cover expenses for songwriters attending their studio sessions.

Upon accepting the award at an event in London, she said: “Being a songwriter is also one of the greatest privileges, and I think it’s something that should be about grafting and talent, not about how rich you are, or to be in a good situation financially to be a songwriter. It shouldn’t be about that.”