New issue of Music & Copyright with Brazil country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

Streaming the big positive for UMG and SME in latest financial results
French media company Vivendi and electronics giant Sony Corp. have reported financial details for their respective music subsidiaries, UMG and SME. Although revenue gains at reported rates for UMG in the first half of this year were affected due to the strength of the euro against the dollar, at constant rates UMG’s performance was positive. Recorded-music income benefited from the continued growth in streaming and subscriptions and more than offset the drop in revenue from physical formats. Publishing saw growth in the six-month period, while income from merchandising suffered a year-on-year decline. Sony also reported positive streaming results for SME in the first quarter of its 2018 financial year, although it was music publishing that registered the biggest sector rise for the company. Sony upped its revenue and operating income forecast for the current financial year for SME. However, the company is still forecasting a fall in both for the full year.

Record collections for UACRR despite ongoing collection society accreditation chaos
Ukrainian authors’ society UACRR has reported a big rise in royalty collections and distributions to its author and publisher members. Revenue from theaters, the society’s biggest income source, grew for the third consecutive year, but the biggest boost to overall growth came from live collections and TV receipts. Live collections benefited from tours from international artists, including Sting and Depeche Mode, while TV receipts benefited from the signing of a broadcast licensing agreement with the broadcast group 1+1 Media. The positive results from UACRR came despite little change to the country’s disorderly collective administrative system. The administration process was thrown into chaos in 2013 when a court order invalidated the accreditation system. Currently, there are 18 competing societies, many of which provide licenses for music use below market rates.

HDS ZAMP reports new record for collections and distributions
Croatian authors’ society HDS ZAMP has reported another record-breaking year for royalty collections and distributions, with both domestic and international receipts registering growth. A modest rise in costs meant the total cost-to-revenue ratio was down for the seventh consecutive year. With the exception of the events sector, all of the main public performance sectors saw higher collections. General licensing was the biggest source of revenue, ahead of TV. There was no repeat of the 2016 rise in phonomechanicals due to lower sales of physical formats in Croatia. However, higher private copying income meant the total for mechanicals was almost unchanged. Digital receipts remain low despite the rise in consumer uptake of music-streaming services.

Brazil country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Brazil music industry report. Following two consecutive years of contraction, trade earnings from recorded music in Brazil grew sharply in 2017. Higher trade sales of digital formats and a rise in performance rights easily offset a more than halving of revenue from sales of physical formats. Umbrella rights organizations reported a second straight year of growth after a first fall for more than 10 years. Brazilian events promoter Time For Fun (T4F) reported a fall in revenue for its 2017 fiscal year. However, a higher occupancy rate per show in live music boosted revenue for the first quarter of this year.

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