New issue of Music & Copyright with Australia country report

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

SPECIAL FOCUS: Spotify is the Middle East app download market share leader, but YouTube and SoundCloud head absolute MAU figures
Omdia’s Middle East Market Opportunity Index, 2023, published in November, illustrated the prospect levels for recorded-music sales in 10 of the region’s countries. Although all the major international music streaming services are active in the region, there are no official figures detailing which service is the most popular and what the general level of streaming interest is. To try and plug this hole, Omdia has analyzed app download and monthly active user figures from Sensor Tower. All the countries in the Middle East where Sensor Tower data is available have shown that significant numbers of consumers have at least experimented with music streaming. As the opportunity index demonstrated, the climate for recorded-music sales has changed. Moreover, the Sensor Tower data shows that the competition for users is hotting up.

NEWS FEATURE: Japan heading for third straight year of recorded-music sales growth
New figures published by the Japanese recorded-music trade association, the RIAJ, show that digital music sales in the first nine months of this year grew at a double-digit percentage point rate for the fourth year in a row. Three of the four streaming revenue sources registered positive results, with only subscription video suffering a dip. Audio subscriptions’ dominance of digital sales has continued to grow, with the revenue stream now accounting for close to three-quarters of the digital total. Physical formats have also registered a positive year so far, with the growth rate in high single figures. The combined revenue total of physical production and digital trade sales suggests that Japan will secure recorded-music growth for a third straight year.

SECTOR ANALYSIS: Music streamers dive deeper into tech partnerships to boost subscriber uptake
Music streamers have long depended on partnerships to promote their services and acquire subscribers, and they continue to do deals with other entertainment platforms, such as video and gaming, in their bids to boost penetration. However, they are increasingly looking to ally with developers of frontline technologies, in particular those with artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. Expect to see more tie-ups of this kind as operators look to, for example, power up their recommendation tools for music tracks and podcasts, as well as move into synthetic and cloned voices for their audiobook offerings. Getting into bed with innovators—as Spotify has recently done with Google Cloud and its AI capabilities—is a way of gaining an edge over the competition.

COUNTRY REPORT: Australia
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Australia music industry report. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, all Australian music industry sectors experienced a prolonged period of growth. Recorded-music sales had registered consecutive annual increases, with growing numbers of consumers happy to stream music rather than own it. Authors’ rights collections were also on the up, and ticket sales for live music events were breaking records. However, the pandemic touched all the country’s music sectors, some significantly more so than others. Recorded-music sales weathered the storm and have now registered growth for eight consecutive years. Collections for APRA AMCOS also maintained consistent annual increases, and rights receipts are now twice what they were just seven years ago. However, live music suffered a major dip, as revenue and attendance fell sharply. Thankfully, live performance has returned, and the sector is well on course to return to prepandemic levels.

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