New issue of Music & Copyright with Sweden country report

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

Recorded-music sales for UMG continue to outpace closest rival SME
French media company Vivendi and Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. have reported financial details for their respective music subsidiaries, UMG and SME. Both companies continue to benefit from high sales of music streaming. For UMG, increased streaming income in the second three months of this year as well as a second straight quarter of unusually strong sales of physical formats boosted overall sales. Licensing income and revenue from merchandising sales also registered year-on-year growth. Not to be outdone, streaming sales for SME increased in the three-month period, the first quarter of the company’s 2019 financial year. Moreover, a modest fall in revenue from physical formats meant total recorded-music income increased year-on-year. Music publishing was the biggest growth sector for SME, with sales and operating income inflated by the acquisition late last year of EMI Music Publishing (EMI MP).

Artists with a gift for fashion stay in vogue
Leading artists such as Madonna and Lady Gaga have long been associated with high fashion and its brands to deliver music diva looks, but at the same time many musicians, especially rappers, have worked hard on developing branded clothing lines to bring their own styles to the street. We have now entered an era where the artist is also becoming a fashion creator, with Rihanna at the apex of the trend following her recent joint venture with luxury group LVMH. Not all musicians are able to clinch apparel deals, but there’s plenty of appetite from brands to work together with them short-term on clothing projects that can boost revenue and deliver marketing uplift.

SIAE reports mixed year for live entertainment in Italy
The Italian live events sector experienced an indifferent 2018, according to annual figures published by Italian authors’ society SIAE. Following a mixed 2017, total live entertainment box office receipts were up, along with audience expenditure and turnover. However, the number of shows/performances/events was down, along with admissions and attendance. In terms of box office, music concerts registered the highest growth of the tracked entertainment sectors, ahead of sports and traveling shows/amusements. Pop accounted for the biggest share of concerts, ahead of classical and jazz. The number of pop concerts edged down last year, while total classical concerts staged increased. Pop dominated box office takings, audience expenditure, and turnover. Cinema, Italy’s biggest sector by box office, suffered a fall in sales. Dance sales were also down year on year.

Sweden country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Sweden music industry report. As home to the world’s biggest on-demand audio subscription service, Spotify, Sweden has become one of the world’s most progressive recorded-music markets. The country’s digital share of trade sales last year topped 90% (see Figure 1) as combined spending on physical formats slipped to a record low. In addition to recorded music, consumer spending on tickets to live music events grew last year and are projected to rise further in the next few years. Royalty collections in Sweden are breaking records annually, with authors’ society STIM reporting earlier this year the eighth consecutive year of collection growth.

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