The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.
PWC charts the recorded music gloom and live music boom
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has published its annual assessment and forecasts for the recorded music and live music industry sectors. The figures make healthy reading for those involved in the live sector, but, despite the forecast rise of digital, the steady fall in sales of CD albums will mean total recorded music sales will continue to shrink for the next five years at least. Overall, combined revenue from live and recorded music will grow annually in the five years up to and including 2019, edging ever closer to the magical $50bn mark.
Collections return to growth for JASRAC in 2014
Japanese authors’ society JASRAC has reported a return to growth for royalty collections in the 12 months to the end of March 2015, after a decline in the previous 12-month period. Despite a fall in both mechanicals and overseas revenue, the rise in domestic performance income, most notably from live performance, boosted overall collections. Broadcasting remained the biggest single source of earnings for Japanese authors. Digital collections edged up in line with the total increase in digital-music sales in Japan last year.
Digital and broadcasting gains boost STIM revenue to record high
Swedish authors’ society STIM has reported another record financial year with total collections and distributions to its members topping the previous records set in 2013. Digital collections were again the star performer with income from digital music services accounting for the second biggest share of domestic income sources. A better year for advertising in Sweden boosted commercial broadcast collections. However, royalties from festivals and live music concerts suffered a big drop after a sharp rise in 2013.
SFX Entertainment and the need to curb its EDM ambitions
SFX Entertainment has had a short and eventful life. The electronic dance music (EDM) specialist is only three years old but, not short on ambition, it has adopted an acquisitions-led growth strategy that has turned it into a $350m-a-year company. But rapid expansion has come at a cost and SFX has yet to turn a profit. For the company’s striving CEO, that does not seem to pose much of a problem. But SFX is listed on the NASDAQ exchange, its stock price has suffered, and its strategy has been heavily criticized. Now the company, which only launched its IPO at the tail-end of 2013, is looking to de-list and get out of the spotlight. But it is not clear that SFX will fare any differently as a private company if it does not change its high-growth tack. Moreover, it may not survive as a stand-alone entity.
Germany country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Germany music industry profile. Retail sales of recorded-music in Germany increased for the second consecutive year in 2014. German trade association BVMI reported a 1.8% rise in consumer spending on recorded music compared with 2013. Revenue from subscriptions and streaming fully offset the falls in spending on music downloads and CD album sales. However, despite the digital transition gathering pace, physical formats still account for more than two-thirds of consumer spending. In line with recorded music spending, authors’ society GEMA also reported a second consecutive year of collection growth. Despite difficult market conditions, GEMA said collections were positive for almost all of its business sectors with digital experiencing the highest growth. Germany’s live industry, the biggest in Europe, is in good shape with new festival launches heightening an already competitive sector.
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