The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.
Currency fluctuations affect global performance rights earnings in 2015
Given the long period of demise of recorded-music sales, producers’ and performers’ earnings from performance rights have become an important income source. Total collections in 2015 broke new records, with distributions to both producers and performers topping $1bn for the second year. Measured at reported exchange rates, global performance rights payments were down year on year. At constant rates, total distributions increased. However, the rate of growth was much lower than in 2014. Global receipts from performance rights remain dominated by the US organization SoundExchange. Although Europe is the biggest source of performance rights collections, the region’s share of the global total slipped below 50% for the first time.
France set to register annual growth in recorded-music sales
French music trade association SNEP has reported positive trade figures for the first nine months of this year. Total trade income increased year-on-year, and a good third quarter meant the rate of growth in the nine-month period was higher than the midyear rate. Subscriptions and ad-supported streaming were the two growth sectors, with sales of downloads down sharply. The overall performance was also buoyed by a rise in third-quarter physical-format income. Based on the SNEP figures, France looks well placed to register its first annual rise in trade earnings since 2013 and only the second for more than 10 years. The only worry for longer-term growth is that physical formats still dominate trade sales, and so a return to longer term growth is still dependent on how quickly local consumers turn away from CD albums.
Messaging is becoming the new battleground for music marketing
Fast-growing messaging services are gaining an increasing amount of consumer attention and younger demographics are spending more time on chat platforms than on social media. Music companies and artists are already using messaging to increase fan engagement and for promotional purposes, and this will accelerate. However, marketers looking to capitalize on messaging further will need to work hard to keep up with technological changes, particularly because messaging platforms are becoming increasingly automated. Chat bots are also coming to the fore, giving artists the chance to get even closer to their fans, but they are posing a threat to legitimate methods of selling concert tickets.
Spain country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Spain music industry report. Spain’s two main music industry sectors, recorded and live, have both recovered in the last couple of years. Recorded-music sales have increased for two successive years on the back of greater consumer interest in music subscriptions and streaming. The live sector is seeing rising revenues despite high rates of VAT on cultural events. Royalty collections in the country have remained flat for two years with lower collections from some sectors almost offset by gains elsewhere. The optimistic industry figures come at a time when the Spanish economy is continuing to register signs of improvement. However, the Spanish music sector, particularly recorded music, has a long way to go before it can declare itself out of the woods.
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