MBW’s Stat Of The Week is a series in which we highlight a data point that deserves the attention of the global music industry. Stat Of the Week is supported by Cinq Music Group, a technology-driven record label, distribution, and rights management company.
CISAC, the (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) has published its annual Global Collections Report.
Within the report, the Paris-headquartered organization provides what it calls a “comprehensive” overview of data and analysis of global royalty collections across all repertoires including music, audiovisual, visual arts, literature, and drama for 2022.
Music collections were the largest segment, with publisher and songwriter royalties collected by their societies globally growing by a record 28% YoY in 2022 to reach EUR €10.8 billion – the first time global music collections have crossed the €10 billion mark.
That €10.8 billion global music royalties figure converts to $11.35 billion (at the average annual exchange rate published as per the IRS) and was up 21.4% on the collections reported for the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (see below).
Taking a closer look at the geographic sources of those music collections in 2022 offers an interesting insight into the shifting regional dynamics of the global music business.
CISAC’s report reveals that every region saw growth in 2022 with Europe remaining the largest, accounting for more than half (51%) of the global music collections total with 28.3% YoY growth in 2022.
There was29.9% YoYgrowth in North America, and 16.5% YoY growth in Asia Pacific, but revenues in Latin America saw the most growth, increasing by 64.9% YoY, which CISAC says was owed to “the trebling of live and background music income”.
Meanwhile, CISAC reports that growing streaming subscription income was a key driver behind a 33.5% YoY rise in digital collections, with ‘digital’ becoming the largest income stream for music creators for the first time.
Reaching €4.1 billion ($4.31bn) in 2022, digital income accounted for 37.5% of all music collections, up from 19.6% in 2018.
CISAC notes however that “in the context of wider creative industry revenues, digital is still under-performing as an income source for most music creators served by CISAC members”.
The report also notes that digital revenues comprised 37.7% of all music collections, almost half the corresponding share (71%) in the recording industry.
CISAC also reports that a “growing number of territories are seeing a combination of high market shares and continuing strong growth in digital music collections, in particular in the Asia-Pacific region”.
The report adds that “smaller territories with high digital music market shares have seen exponential growth during the three-year pandemic, as streaming consumption and subscription rates rise, and as new licensing deals are reached”.
Amongst those territories are Indonesia, where ‘digital’ has 99.5% market share and saw 297.7% in digital music collections between 2019 and 2022 (see below).
Elsewhere, music royalties from the live and public performance sector increased by a record 68.2% YoY in 2022 to €2.51 billion ($2.63bn), as festivals, music tours and businesses reopened following closures during the pandemic.
Within the “live and background” category, royalties from live concerts rose 185.7% YoY in 2022, according to a sample of more than 100 societies.
Commenting on the new report published on Thursday (October 26), CISAC Director General Gadi Oron said: “This is a remarkable return to growth as our whole sector fully recovers from the disastrous three-year pandemic.
“Streaming and subscription have not just revived the status quo, they have transformed the market, changed the game for creators and paved the way for future growth”.
Gadi Oron, CISAC
Oron added: “While live and public performance have bounced back strongly, the recovery is driven most of all by digital which has now become creators’ largest source of income.
“Streaming and subscription have not just revived the status quo, they have transformed the market, changed the game for creators and paved the way for future growth”.
Writing in his foreword to the Report, CISAC President Björn Ulvaeus, looked ahead to the future impact of AI on creators’ collections.
“This year’s results show that the collective management system, despite all the enormous challenges it faces in adapting to digital, is still robust and effective,” said Ulvaeus.
“CMOs have the backs of the creators they serve and are now delivering more money to more creators than ever before.”
Björn Ulvaeus
He added: “CMOs have the backs of the creators they serve and are now delivering more money to more creators than ever before. And that is good news – because, fresh from COVID and the economic squeeze, what we now face is another very serious, existential challenge – that of Artificial intelligence.
“AI will radically change the world for creators and the creative industry. It demands international leadership and a strong united front from all parts of the creative industry”.
