Live recovery helps CISAC to record collections
Global royalty collections for creators increased by 7.6% to reach a new high of €13.1 billion last year, according to the 2024 Global Collections Report published by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC).
The increase was partly attributed to the “strong” post-pandemic resurgence of live concerts and public performance, as well as a steady upturn in digital income.
Live and public performance collections – which includes concerts, exhibitions and licensing of venues and businesses – posted the strongest growth of any segment, growing by 22% to an all-time high of €3.3bn.
According to a sample of over 100 music societies, collections from live concerts and festivals grew 36.5%, while public performance licensing revenue was up 10.9%.
The income stream accounted for 25% of total collections, behind digital (35%) and broadcast (30%), and is up 12.6% on pre-Covid levels. The Latin American market was a key driver overall, showcasing huge growth of 114.6% over the past two years.
CISAC director general Gadi Oron says the figures paint a positive picture of a “healthy, stable and promising sector”.
“Overall, collections on behalf of creators reached a new all-time high of €13.1bn, an impressive 7.6% increase,” says Oron. “This, in itself, is a major achievement and shows the strength of the collective management system.”
“Support from governments to protect the live sector has never been more important”
Furthermore, the report reveals that royalties derived solely from live music have increased by 24% since 2019 to €1.03bn.
“The live and public performance income stream bounced back buoyantly,” notes Oron. “For the first time, the amounts collected by CISAC societies for background music, live concerts, exhibitions and entertainment, exceeded their 2019 pre-Covid level reaching €3.28bn, fuelled by the growing number of live concerts and tours around the world.”
However, Oron issues a warning over the continuing struggles of the grassroots scene.
“Yet, despite this success, the sector is fragmented and in many areas, fragile,” he says. “At the grassroots level, venues are closing and local events struggling. Support from governments to protect the live sector has never been more important.”
CISAC board chair Marcelo Castello Branco adds: “This 2024 CISAC Global Collections Report shows a successful performance by the CISAC global network, and we should take a moment to celebrate our achievements. However, it is essential that we elevate our ambitions further. We have to firmly reject the notion that creation – whether in music, audiovisual, visual arts, literature, or drama – is merely a commodity or a tool in the attention economy.
“Our market environment is full of uncertainties, and while we take pride in present growth, our priority now needs to be long-term sustainable growth to ensure the livelihoods of the creators we represent.”
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The Touring Business Handbook 2024 out now
The Touring Business Handbook, a brand-new resource produced by IQ in association with Centtrip, is out now.
The first edition of the handbook features a wealth of advice and information from specialists in insurance, law, visas & immigration, accountancy & tax, performance royalties and currency exchange.
“With thousands of tours heading out each year, IQ wanted to produce a single publication, updated every year, containing as much practical information as possible to help artists and their teams as they plan to cross borders,” say editors Francine Gorman and Eamonn Forde.
“When we started planning this first edition of the Touring Business Handbook, it was hugely encouraging that so many of the professionals we approached said the same thing – that this was something sorely missing from the desks of those planning, budgeting, and building tours. So in this first edition, we’ve invited contributions from many of the world’s top experts, who have kindly taken time to put pen to paper.”
Contributors include Blacks Solicitors, Bullocks Touring, MSE Business Management, Viva La Visa, PACE Rights Management, Voly Group, Miller Insurance, International Theatre Institute, Schickhardt Rechtsanwälte and Russells.
Higginbotham Insurance Agency, CC Young & Co, All Arts Tax Advisers, mgr Weston Kay, International Theatre Institute, T&S Immigration Services, Gelfand Rennert & Feldman, Tysers Live, SRLV and Centtrip have also lent their expertise.
The Touring Business Handbook is available in print, digitally, and on this dedicated year-round mini-site. To purchase a print copy of the report, get in touch.
A preview version of The Touring Business Handbook 2024 is below.
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SGAE suffers third statute reform failure
Spanish collection society, Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE), is facing increased pressure from the government and international author’s rights association Cisac, after failing to make reforms to its statutes.
The beleaguered collection society lacked member votes to implement reform at its General Assembly in Madrid on Monday (24 June). 62.8% of members voted in favour of the changes proposed by SGAE president Pilar Jurado, 4% short of the two-thirds majority required.
Of the 18,000 eligible members, only 1,356 participated in the vote.
Changes to the society’s statutes are necessary in order to comply with current European Union intellectual property law. In the run up to the vote, Jurado stressed that the society was facing its “last opportunity” and that failure to comply with the changes would be “terrible for creators”.
In failing to reform the collection society has also failed to meet the demands of Spanish Minister of Culture José Guirao and the International Confederation of Authors’ Societies
In failing to reform – for the third time – the collection society has also failed to meet the demands of Spanish Minister of Culture José Guirao and the International Confederation of Authors’ Societies (Cisac).
Last week, the National Assembly rejected Guirao’s call for governmental intervention in light of SGAE’s upcoming General Assembly. Following the decision, Guirao stated that failure to pass the reforms would leave “no other option other than to strip SGAE of its authority.”
In May, Cisac temporarily expelled SGAE as a member, due to the society’s failure to convince the body of its commitment to reform. The sanction, which “can be lifted or adjusted at any time” provided positive change is made, remains in place.
Earlier this month, the society received two fines from the Spanish competition regulator, one of €3.1m in relation to “abusive” 10% concert tariffs, and the other of €2.95 for anti-competitive conduct.
SGAE has been embroiled in controversy surrounding a scandal known as ‘the wheel’ (la rueda) since 2017.
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SGAE fined €2.95m for anti-competitive practices
The Spanish competition regulator has fined national collection society SGAE €2.95 million for anti-competitive conduct, just days after the society’s expulsion from international authors’ rights association Cisac.
The national commission of markets and competition (Comisión nacional de los mercados y la competencia – CNMC) imposed the fine following the conclusion of a two-year investigation into actions undertaken by SGAE, known as the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores in Spanish.
The fine is the second that SGAE has received in the space of a few weeks. On 7 May, the Supreme Court approved of a €3.1m fine against the collection society, in a move lauded by Spanish promoters’ association the Asociación de Promotores Musicales (APM). The sanction was first proposed by the CNMC in 2014, in relation to SGAE’s “abusive” 10% concert tariffs.
The recent investigation into SGAE conduct finds evidence of “single and continued infringement” of free competition and European Union law.
The CNMC states that SGAE imposes contractual conditions to limit the freedom of its members. The society prevents members from attributing the management of only a part of their intellectual property rights by grouping rights into designated categories which cannot be managed separately. Members are also unable to revoke or partially withdraw the management of rights.
Through this practice, reports the watchdog, the society “has created obstacles to the free management of rights and the development of management entities other than the SGAE, making competition difficult.”
“[SGAE] has created obstacles to the free management of rights and the development of management entities other than the SGAE, making competition difficult.”
The watchdog also reports that the society has abused it position in relation to public broadcast rights, by bundling musical and audiovisual rights together and providing no itemised price breakdown for clients.
The joint sale, or bundling, occurs in the hospitality and catering sectors. As a result of the bundling, users wishing to offer musical content are obliged to acquire the audiovisual rights at the same time. CNMC states this impedes alternative offers from other management entities, given that SGAE is the only operator offering public reproduction and broadcast rights for musical content.
The investigation also finds that the lack of itemised price breakdown prevents users from determining the actual costs incurred by their use and therefore from comparing SGAE charges to offers from possible competitors.
Complaints from audiovisual authors’ rights group Dama (Derechos de Autor de Medios Audiovisuales, Entidad de Gestión) and collection society Unison sparked the investigation.
“At Unison we celebrate the decision of the Spanish regulator, which helps to guarantee free competition in the market of music rights management,” says Unison chief executive Jordi Puy.
The companies involved have two months to appeal the resolution through the national court.
The fine comes at a time of turbulence for the Spanish society. Cisac expelled SGAE as a member on Thursday 30 May for failing to implement reform. SGAE has been embroiled in controversy surrounding a scandal known as ‘the wheel’ (la rueda) since 2017.
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