New issue of Music & Copyright with Finland country report

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

Merch business generates battles with both fakers and music venues
Merchandise sales remain a significant revenue stream for both headline acts and emerging artists. When you have as many product lines as Harry Styles, it’s certainly worth protecting these and going to the costly trouble of hiring lawyers to take on counterfeiters. For up-and-coming musicians, it’s more a question of obtaining full proceeds from merch sales when on tour, and that means battling venues that demand sizeable commissions on takings. Some operators are listening to that message, but major live brands should also make zero-fees standard practice. As for marketing the merchandise, more creativity would boost fan engagement with music and artists to maximize the take at the point of sale.

JASRAC reports record year for collections and a return to growth for distributions
Japanese authors’ society JASRAC has reported a second straight year of growth for collections. Despite the country enduring its worst two waves of COVID-19 infections, the full return of performances and concerts buoyed general performance, while broadcasting receipts registered an uptick after two consecutive years of contraction. Digital income was boosted by the continued shift from ownership of recorded-music formats to access, a new licensing deal with YouTube, and higher collections from online karaoke. Mechanical receipts suffered a modest decline, with collections from video, CDs, and games all down year-on-year. Distributions returned to growth, with payments to JASRAC author and publisher members benefiting from higher income from digital and general performance.

Streaming gains and a big jump in live receipts boost STIM collections to new record
Swedish authors’ society STIM has reported a second consecutive rise in collections, with last year’s total exceeding the previous record high. Almost all the main revenue streams registered growth, with live receipts more than trebling. The Swedish government’s lifting of the last remaining COVID-19 restrictions provided a major boost to performance-based sectors. In addition to the rise in live revenue, income from shops and stores, hotels, cinemas, and nightclubs also returned to growth. Digital added the most in extra revenue last year, with gains in audio and video streaming boosting the online total. TV revenue was flat while radio income was down slightly. STIM is expecting broadcast collections to fall in the coming years as more consumers shift their viewing to OTT services, and listening to podcast-style broadcasts.

Finland country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Finland music industry report. Finland is one of Europe’s smaller countries. Despite having a land area rivaling the region’s leaders, the population of Finland ended last year at 5.6 million. In recorded-music terms, Finland sits just outside the global top 20. However, despite its modest ranking, the country is a market leader in the digital transition from ownership to access. Subscription services generate around 80% of combined digital/physical trade income, and this share will continue to rise as sales of the once-dominant CD album drop away and downloads disappear. UMG maintained its position as the biggest recorded-music distributor. However, the company’s share for 2022 was down for the second year in a row. Also, SME overtook WMG to become the second-biggest distributor. Royalty earnings collected by authors’ society TEOSTO registered a sharp rise, with performance-based receipts continuing to recover after the sector was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ticket sales to live music events were also up last year, although spending is yet to return to prepandemic levels.

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