Live royalties growth surpasses radio/TV in 2018
Music collections grew almost 2% in 2018, generating €8.5 billion, with the growth of live/background music royalties surpassing that of frontrunner TV/radio.
The most recent figures released by Cisac, the association that represents global copyright collection societies, show the traditional revenue streams of TV, radio, live and background music – that played in restaurants, bars and clubs – “continue to be the backbone of royalties collections”, despite the “mass migration to digital channels” in recent years.
In Cisac’s Global Collections Report 2019, which documents overall royalties collected in the areas of music, audiovisual, visual arts, drama and literature, the association’s director general, Gadi Oron, puts “comparatively modest” growth down to the “devaluing effect of the exceptionally strong euro”.
Revenue from live and background music combined has grown 0.8% from 2017 to €2.6bn, while TV and radio has seen a decline of 3.1%, generating €3.3bn.
In conjunction with TV/radio’s decline, live/background royalty collections surpass that of broadcast in Italy and Chile. Live and background royalties reach €322 million in Italy (-0.9% year-on-year) and CLP10,960m, or €13.43m, in Chile (+8.4% YOY).
“The large traditional revenue streams continue to be the backbone of royalties collections”
Europe remains the largest region for collections, generating over 50% of global music revenues. According to the report, the live music sector “continues to grow healthily across Europe, with strong demand for concerts and festivals.” Live/background collections lead the way in Europe, rising 1.4% in 2018 to €1.7bn, and by 11% over the past five years.
Live collections are also up in Asia-Pacific by 3.1% to €306m and 2.2% in Canada/USA to €345m. Elsewhere, royalties are down -0.9% in Africa (17m) and 9.5% to €194m in Latin America and the Caribbean, where live music still remains the leading source of collections.
Digital is where Cisac president Jean-Michael Jarre sees the “future”, with increasing subscription revenues driving growth of 185% over the past five years.
“More than ever, societies are working in a landscape of fragmenting income sources,” writes Oron. “This calls for more versatility: protecting the large traditional collections streams of live, background and broadcast, while striking new deals to monetise creators’ works on YouTube, Facebook and other digital platforms. The role of authors’ societies in generating monetary value for millions of creators has never been more vital.”
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