New market share results reveal the recorded-music and music publishing winners and losers in 2023

Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. UMG remained the overall global music group leader last year, but for the third year in a row, second-placed SMG reduced the gap. UMG’s recorded-music share was down slightly for the third consecutive year, while SME has registered share growth for four straight years. WMG’s share fell back for a second year, and the independent sector’s share edged down after a modest rise in 2022. For publishing, SMP extended its lead over second-placed UMPG, while WCM’s share was up for the third straight year. The collective share for the independent sector fell below 40% for the first time since 2014.

Modest changes in recorded-music market shares
According to Music & Copyright, UMG remained the top company for combined physical and digital recorded-music trade revenue in 2023. The leading major accounted for 31.8% of the total compared with 31.9% in 2022. For digital revenue only, UMG’s share was down, to 32.4% from 33%, while the company’s physical share increased, to 29.3% from 27.6%.

Record companies, digital- and physical-revenue market shares, 2022 and 2023
Source: Music & Copyright

SME’s position as the second-largest record company was maintained. Moreover, the company was the only one of the three majors not to lose combined digital/physical share. Last year, SME accounted for an unchanged 22.1% of the total. The company’s digital share grew to 23.5% from 23.2%, while its physical share was down to 16.6% from 17.7%. SME’s share of all recorded-music trade revenue, which includes licensing and other revenue as well as income from physical and digital music sales, increased to 22.9% from 22.6%.

Record companies, total recorded-music-revenue market shares, 2022 and 2023
Source: Music & Copyright

The smaller of the three majors, WMG, suffered a dip in share for both digital and physical sales for the second year in a row. According to Music & Copyright, WMG’s digital share was down last year, to 16.8% from 17.2% in 2022. The company’s share of physical sales fell to 10.4% from 10.9%. The results meant WMG’s combined digital/physical share slipped to 15.5% from 16%. Collectively, the independents saw a rise in digital share for the second consecutive year. The share last year was up to 27.3% from 26.6%. For physical formats, the independents’ share edged down to 43.7% from 43.8%. The results meant independent companies’ combined digital/physical revenue share grew to 30.6% from 30%.

Rise in publishing shares for SMP and WCM
Music & Copyright has calculated that global music publishing revenue topped the $9bn milestone for the first time last year. Total income increased 10.9%, to a record high of $9.03bn from $8.14bn in 2022. Last year’s growth rate was down on the 17.7% rise in 2022 and 17.6% improvement in 2021.
Not only did SMP maintain its leading position ahead of UMPG last year, but the gap between the two widened slightly to 1.5 percentage points from 1.3 points in 2022. SMP’s share edged up to 24.9% from 24.7%. UMPG’s publishing share edged down to 23.3% from 23.4%.

Music-publishing companies’ revenue market shares, 2022 and 2023
Source: Music & Copyright

Third-placed WCM registered the third consecutive annual rise in share. Moreover, WCM’s share was the highest for more than 10 years. Music & Copyright estimates the company accounted for 12.4% of global publishing revenue in 2023 compared with 12% in 2022. Although the collective share of independent music publishers maintained a healthy lead, the share slipped last year to 39.4% from 40%. For more market share details and further analysis just follow this link.

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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.

SPECIAL FOCUS: New market share results reveal the recorded-music and music publishing winners and losers
Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. UMG remained the overall global music group leader last year, but for the third year in a row, second-placed SMG reduced the gap. UMG’s recorded-music share was down slightly for the third consecutive year, while SME has registered share growth for four straight years. WMG’s share fell back for a second year, and the independent sector’s share edged down after a modest rise in 2022. For publishing, SMP extended its lead over second-placed UMPG, while WCM’s share was up for the third straight year. The collective share for the independent sector fell below 40% for the first time since 2014.

NEWS FEATURE: KODA reports new milestones for collections and distributable revenue
Danish authors’ society KODA has published its annual report for 2023. Total collections were up for the third consecutive year after suffering a pandemic-related dip in 2020. Moreover, revenue for the Danish society hit another new record. Subscriber gains and new licensing agreements with digital services saw online income overtake broadcasting to become the society’s biggest revenue source. Broadcasting suffered a second year of falling receipts, although the 2023 dip was largely caused by income from previous years’ use of music in the TV sector included in the 2022 total. Most notable in last year’s results was that collections for all the main performance sectors exceeded prepandemic levels. Cinema is the exception. Despite two years of collection growth, movie theater receipts are still short of the 2019 total.

SECTOR ANALYSIS: Amazon Music goes multiplatform to pull in livestreamed music audiences
Amazon Music is going head-to-head with YouTube and TikTok in the music livestreaming space. The company has already offered up coverage of three major festivals, with performances made available across three Amazon channels simultaneously to boost audiences. The retail giant has also achieved success with its second season of the Amazon Music Live series, which goes out after its NFL coverage. Amazon Music has been enhancing its livestreamed product with content extras and music merchandise offerings, and it is promising further add-ons. However, it needs to ensure that such extras are a good fit with live performances and not mere gimmicks.

COUNTRY REPORT: Brazil
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, recorded-music trade sales in Brazil have now risen for seven years in a row. Despite COVID-19 affecting performance rights and synchronization in 2020, streaming gains more than offset the declines. The two affected sectors returned to growth in 2021 and have now registered two years of improved performance. Streaming gains also boosted last year’s total along with vinyl sales more than doubling. Umbrella rights organization ECAD saw distributions top record levels in 2023. Moreover, live music sales are continuing on the road to recovery and are expected to top prepandemic levels this year.

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Recorded-music market share gains for SME and the indies, publishing share growth for UMPG and WCM

Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. According to the survey, UMG remained the top company for combined physical and digital recorded-music trade revenue last year, although the company’s share edged down slightly to 31.9% from 32% in 2021 (see Figure 1). For digital revenue only, UMG’s share slipped to 33% from 33.3%, while its physical share increased to 27.6% from 26.8%. The shares are based on revenue received by each company/grouping.

Figure 1: Record companies, physical- and digital-revenue market shares, 2021 and 2022

Source: Music & Copyright

SME enhanced its position as the second-largest record company. Its combined digital/physical market share increased for the fourth consecutive year, ending 2022 at 22.1% compared with 21.7% in 2021. SME’s digital share grew to 23.2% from 22.6%, while its physical share was down to 17.7% from 18.5%. SME’s share of all recorded-music trade revenue, which includes licensing and other revenue as well as income from physical and digital music sales, increased to 22.6% from 21.9% (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Record companies, total recorded-music-revenue market shares, 2021 and 2022

Source: Music & Copyright

The smaller of the three majors, WMG, suffered a dip in share for both digital and physical sales. According to Music & Copyright, WMG’s digital share was down last year, to 17.2% from 18.2% in 2021. The company’s share for physical sales fell to 10.9% from 11.4%. Of the three majors, WMG had the biggest difference between its digital and physical shares—6.3 percentage points compared with 5.4 points for UMG and 5.5 points for SME.

Collectively, the independents held the biggest share of physical formats. Moreover, the share was up last year, to 43.7% from 43.2% in 2021. Also, the independents’ digital share increased to 26.5% from 25.9%. The results meant the combined digital/physical revenue share for independent companies grew to 30% from 29.5%.

Little change in music publishing shares
In line with the way Music & Copyright determines global recorded-music market shares, music publishing shares are also based on revenue received by each company. Music & Copyright has calculated that global music publishing revenue increased 17.7% last year, to $8.1bn from $6.9bn in 2021. The growth rate was marginally higher than the 17.6% rise in 2021 but more than three times the 5.2% growth in 2020. Although Sony maintained its leading position ahead of UMPG, the gap between the two narrowed to 1.3 percentage points from 1.7 points in 2021. Sony’s share, which consists of revenue from Sony Music Publishing (rebranded from Sony/ATV in early 2021), EMI Music Publishing (EMI MP), and Sony Music Publishing Japan, edged down to 24.7% from 24.9% (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Music-publishing companies, revenue market shares, 2021 and 2022

Source: Music & Copyright

UMPG’s publishing share grew last year, to 23.4% from 23.2% in 2021. Third-placed WCM registered the second consecutive annual rise in share. Music & Copyright estimates the company’s share increased to 12% from 11.8%. Although the collective share of independent music publishers maintained a healthy lead, the share slipped slightly last year, to 40% from 40.1%.

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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.

Recorded-music market share gains for SME and the indies, publishing share growth for UMPG and WCM
Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. Overall, UMG remained the global music company leader last year, but second-placed Sony closed the gap. UMG’s recorded-music share was down slightly for the second consecutive year. In contrast, SME has now registered share growth for two years in a row. WMG’s share fell back to the same level recorded in 2020, while the independent sector saw its share rise for the first time since 2018. For publishing, Sony’s lead over second-placed UMPG narrowed, while WCM’s share was up for the second straight year. The collective share for the independent sector edged down, but the size of the lead over Sony remained unchanged.

Six years of collection growth for Bulgaria’s Musicautor
Bulgarian authors’ society Musicautor has reported a sixth consecutive year of rising collections, with the growth rate for 2022 up sharply on the previous year. The two biggest income sources, TV and radio, both registered growth, while digital revenue was boosted by new licensing agreements with international OTT video services. Musicautor’s worst-affected collection sectors during the pandemic have all bounced back. Revenue from general licensing and concerts returned to prepandemic levels, while cinema and theater registered the highest income growth rates overall. Despite a rise in sales of physical formats in Bulgaria, mechanicals were down for a second straight year. However, international collections returned to growth after a dip in 2021.

Music majors need to press on with more vinyl investment
The vinyl revival clearly has staying power, with more young music fans developing a strong liking for the age-old physical format. However, if pressing plants had the ability to satisfy evident demand, the sales curve would rise more steeply, while many independent record companies and artists who currently find it hard to secure vinyl runs would be able to tap into expanded capacity. Leading record companies need to invest in the pressing sector. Moreover, the requirements of the modern world mean they must do so in an environmentally sustainable way. Their involvement could speed up the development of alternatives to energy-intensive and toxic vinyl.

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, recorded-music trade sales in Brazil have now risen for six years in a row. Despite COVID-19 affecting performance rights and synchronization in 2020, streaming gains more than offset the declines. The two affected sectors returned to growth in 2021 and have now registered a positive 2022. Streaming gains also boosted last year’s total along with a doubling in revenue from vinyl. Umbrella rights organization ECAD saw collections and distributions top record levels in 2022. Live music sales are on the road to recovery but are expected to remain short of prepandemic levels for a few years.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with France country report

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

YouTube Music makes market share gains as more streaming services roll out price rises

The number of music subscriptions around the world is continuing to rise, with a steady stream of consumers happy to sign up to one of the many available streamers. In a short space of time, a handful of services have become dominant. Spotify has long been the leader, although subscriber gains from some of its competitors have reduced the Swedish service’s market share. YouTube Music has registered the highest growth rate of the leading streamers so far this year, with the service recently confirming a new subscriber milestone. Although the music streaming sector is continuing to grow at pace, some services have decided that now is the time to raise prices. Spotify has kept its pricing largely the same since it rolled out more than 10 years ago, but that is expected to change early next year. While the majority of subscribers have indicated that they will fork out the extra, a sizable number have questioned whether the higher price is worth paying.

Luna Aura files legal claim against 3LAU for a share of Ultraviolet multimillion-dollar NFT sale

Recording artist Luna Aura has filed a lawsuit at a New York district court against the electronic music DJ and producer 3LAU for the nonpayment of royalties. Aura contributed to a track included in an album released by 3LAU in 2018. However, several special edition vinyl copies of the album were sold as part of an NFT auction at the beginning of last year. The auction generated several million dollars in revenue, but Aura did not receive any royalties linked to the NFT sale. Although both sides signed an agreement covering rights payable from the original release of the track and album prior to their recording, there was no specific provision included in the agreement for any nontraditional sales. Aura was offered a licensing fee for the use of the track in the NFT project, but the payment offered was not considered satisfactory.

Twitter’s travails make rival social media a stronger music bet

Twitter 2.0 is a very difficult beast to get a handle on. The reign of Elon Musk has been short and has already been tumultuous. And the whim-based nature of the new owner means there are plenty of twists and turns to come. But while Twitter looks an unsafe and unstable platform to be active on right now, there is likely promise from a mooted creator program that could deliver for artists if it comes to fruition. However, for that to come about, relations between Twitter and record companies need to improve dramatically, given the latter’s issues around alleged copyright infringement on the platform. In any case, Twitter 2.0 isn’t really cutting-edge social media, and TikTok looks like a far more attractive ongoing music prospect.

France country report

In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of <em>Music & Copyright</em> includes a detailed France music industry report. France ended 2021 as the seventh-biggest economy in the world and the third in Europe, behind Germany and the UK. Last year saw the French economy grow 6.8% after suffering an 8% contraction in 2020, largely because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. For this year, the IMF forecast in its October-published World Economic Outlook report that GDP would rise 2.5%, and then 0.7% in 2023. Similar to its economic position in Europe, France also lags the UK and Germany for recorded-music sales. However, last year saw trade sales grow for the fifth consecutive year with the positive results down to the sustained rise in streaming-generated revenue and the resilience of physical formats. Digital sales first overtook physical in 2018 and accounted for almost 70% of last year’s digital/physical total (see Table 1). UMG extended its distributor lead with SME and WMG losing share. Collections for SACEM returned to growth after suffering a dip in 2020. However, the effects of the pandemic are still impacting certain business areas.

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SME and WMG the biggest market share winners in 2021

This year marks the 10th anniversary of UMG’s acquisition of EMI Recorded-Music. Although some label selloffs and advances by one or two of the bigger independents have shifted the landscape slightly, the structure of the global recorded-music sector has been unchanged since 2012. UMG, SME, and WMG have collectively accounted for around 70% of total trade revenue with the independent sector the remaining 30%. The shares are based on revenue received by each company/grouping. According to Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the music industry, UMG remained the top company for combined physical and digital recorded-music trade revenue last year, although the company’s share was down slightly, to 32% from 32.1% in 2020 (see Figure 1). For digital revenue only, UMG’s share slipped, to 33.3% from 34.1%, while its physical share increased, to 26.8% from 25.8%.

Figure 1: Record companies, physical- and digital-revenue market shares, 2020 and 2021
Source: Music & Copyright

SME enhanced its position as the second-largest record company. Its combined digital/physical market share was up, to 21.7% from 20.6%. SME’s digital share grew, to 22.6% from 20.5%. However, the company’s physical share was down, to 18.5% from 21.3%. SME’s share of all recorded-music trade revenue, which includes licensing and other revenue as well as income from physical and digital music sales, increased, to 21.9% from 20.8% (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Record companies, total recorded-music-revenue market shares, 2020 and 2021
Source: Music & Copyright

The smaller of the three majors, WMG, experienced a rise in share for both digital and physical sales. According to Music & Copyright, WMG’s digital share improved last year, to 18.2% from 17.6% in 2020. The company’s share for physical sales was up, to 11.4% from 10.5%. Of the three majors, WMG has the biggest difference between its digital and physical shares (6.8 percentage points compared with 6.5 points for UMG and 4.1 points for SME).
Collectively, the independents held the biggest share of physical formats. Moreover, the share increased last year, to 43.2% from 42.4% in 2020. However, the independents’ digital share was down, to 25.9% from 27.9%. The results meant the combined digital/physical revenue share for independent companies decreased, from 31.6% to 29.6%.

Sony increases its music publishing lead
In line with the way in which Music & Copyright determines global recorded-music market shares, music publishing shares are also based on revenue received by each company. Music & Copyright has calculated that global music publishing revenue jumped 17.6% last year, to $6.9bn from $5.9bn in 2020. The growth rate was notably higher than the 5.2% rise in 2020 and the 2.2% improvement in 2019. Sony maintained its leading position ahead of UMPG with the gap between the two widening, to 1.7 percentage points. Sony’s share, which is made up of revenue from Sony/ATV, EMI Music Publishing, and Sony Music Publishing Japan, grew, to 24.9% from 24.5% (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Music-publishing companies, revenue market shares, 2020 and 2021
Source: Music & Copyright

UMPG’s publishing share edged up last year, to 23.2% from 23% in 2020. Third placed Warner Chappell Music (WCN) registered the biggest rise of the three majors with its share increasing, to 11.8% from 11.2%. Although the collective share of independent music publishers maintained a healthy lead, the share slipped just over one percentage point, to 40.1% from 41.3%.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Brazil report

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

SME and WMG put the market share squeeze on UMG and the independent sector
Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. Although UMG remained the global leader, second-placed SME closed the gap. UMG’s recorded-music share was down for the first time in more than five years with both SME and WMG registering year-on-year share gains. WMG was the only recorded-music major to register growth in its digital and physical shares. For publishing, Sony extended its lead over second-placed UMPG. All three major music publishers recorded a rise in share. The collective independent sector suffered a dip in share for both recorded-music and music publishing. However, for total music revenue, the independent sector is still the leader.

Streaming and vinyl are the big positives in national trade groups’ recorded-music figures
In March, the IFPI published global recorded-music trade results for last year. Total sales, which were made up of physical and digital formats and services, performance rights, and synchronization revenue, grew 18.5% to $25.9bn from $21.9bn in 2020. The rise, which compared with an uptick of 7.2% in 2020, marked the seventh consecutive year of growth. Since the global results were released, several national trade associations and retail groups have published local market figures. Although the level of detail differs between countries, all the results show a year-on-year rise in trade/retail sales, with streaming and vinyl the biggest growth providers. Unusually, most countries registered a growth in sales of physical formats, with revenue from vinyl and CDs rising year-on-year. Similarly, for the countries that included details of performance rights and synchronization, revenue was positive after some sharp declines in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How avatar artists are gaming those virtual performances
An ever-increasing number of artists are transforming themselves into avatars able to perform in fast-developing digital worlds. This gives them the ability to express themselves in a wide range of fantastical experiences that appeal to younger audiences already immersed in, and engaged with, virtual worlds following years of online gaming. Record company majors are looking to get onboard this trend and are planning to convert their artist rosters into hordes of musical avatars. And while virtual concerts are a great way of reaching huge numbers of viewers and of exposing often young audiences to new artists and new music, they also represent a huge opportunity to sell a large amount of digital merchandise that can deliver serious value-add to performances.

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, recorded-music trade sales in Brazil have now risen for five years in a row. Despite COVID-19 affecting performance rights and synchronization in 2020, streaming gains more than offset the declines. Last year saw the two affected sectors return to growth, with streaming sales boosted by subscription uptake and growth in advertising. Last year, umbrella rights organization ECAD reported an increase in collections after the pandemic took a bite out of public performance revenue in 2020. However, distributions were down for the second year in a row.

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UMG and SME put the market share squeeze on WMG and the independent sector

Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. In a repeat of the last review, UMG enhanced its position as the global leader. The company registered growth in its recorded-music market share, while the publishing unit UMPG saw the biggest share gain for any music publisher for more than 10 years. SME saw its total recorded-music share return to growth after three years of decline. Although Sony’s publishing share was down year-on-year, the company’s market share for total music revenue edged upwards. Smaller major WMG suffered a share fall for both recorded-music and music publishing. The independent sector also saw its recorded-music and music publishing shares edge down. Although the indie grouping remained the clear leader for publishing, recorded-music gains for UMG saw the combined indie company share slip to second spot.

Recorded-music share gains for UMG and SME
According to Music & Copyright, UMG increased its share of combined physical and digital recorded-music trade revenue last year, to 32.1%, from 31.8% in 2019 (see Figure 1). For digital revenue only, UMG’s share was up, to 34.1%, from 33.8%, while its physical share was unchanged, at 25.8%.

Figure 1: Record companies, physical- and digital-revenue market shares, 2019 and 2020
Source: Music & Copyright

SME was the second-largest record company and its combined physical/digital market share also increased last year, to 20.6%, from 19.8% in 2019. Ending three straight years of decline, SME’s physical format share grew, to 21.3%, from 18.3%, while the company’s digital market share edged up, to 20.5%, from 20.2%. SME’s share of all recorded-music trade revenue, which includes licensing and other revenue as well as income from physical and digital music sales, was up, to 20.8%, from 20.3% (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Record companies, total recorded-music-revenue market shares, 2019 and 2020
Source: Music & Copyright

The smaller of the three majors, WMG, experienced a share fall for both physical and digital. Furthermore, the gap between its physical and digital shares widened. WMG’s physical format share slipped, to 10.5%, from 11.7%, while its digital share experienced a more modest decline, to 17.6%, from 17.9%.
Although the independent sector’s physical share remained high, at 42.4%, the share was down on the prior year’s 44.2%. The digital share also fell last year, to 27.9%, from 28.1%. The results meant the combined physical/digital revenue share for independent companies decreased, from 31.9% to 31.6%, just behind leading major UMG.

Sony just holds on to the publishing lead
In line the way in which Music & Copyright determines global recorded-music market shares, music publishing market shares are also based on revenue received by each company. Music & Copyright has calculated that global music publishing revenue grew 5.2% last year, to $5.9bn, from $5.6bn in 2019. The growth rate was up on the 2.2% rise in 2019, but down on the 11.4% increase in 2018. Sony maintained its leading position ahead of UMPG, but the gap between the two narrowed, to just 1.5 percentage points. Sony’s share, which is made up of revenue from Sony/ATV, EMI Music Publishing (EMI MP), and Sony Music Publishing Japan, slipped slightly, to 24.5%, from 25% (see Figure 3). Sony took the top spot in 2013 following the purchase of EMI MP by a Sony-led consortium in 2012. Sony then acquired the approximate 60% of the interest in EMI MP held by the consortium in November 2018, resulting in EMI MP becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony.

Figure 3: Music-publishing companies, revenue market shares, 2019 and 2020
Source: Music & Copyright

UMPG enhanced its position as the second-largest music publisher with a share increase of two percentage points, to 23%, from 21%. Furthermore, for the second year in a row, UMPG was the only major publisher to increase its share. Third placed Warner Chappell Music saw its share fall, to 11.2%, from 11.6%. Although the collective share of independent music publishers maintained a healthy lead, the share slipped one percentage point, to 41.3% last year, from 42.3% in 2019.

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New issue of Music & Copyright

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

UMG and SME put the market share squeeze on WMG and the independent sector
Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded-music and music publishing sectors has revealed the changes in global market share for the three major music groups and the independent sector. In a repeat of the last review, UMG enhanced its position as the global leader. The company registered growth in its recorded-music market share, while the publishing unit UMPG saw the biggest share gain for any music publisher for more than 10 years. SME saw its total recorded-music share return to growth after three years of decline. Although Sony’s publishing share was down year-on-year, the company’s market share for total music revenue edged upwards. Smaller major WMG suffered a share fall for both recorded-music and music publishing. The independent sector also saw its recorded-music and music publishing shares edge down. Although the indie grouping remained the clear leader for publishing, recorded-music gains for UMG saw the combined indie company share slip to second spot.

Another year of rising rights collections for South Korea’s KOMCA
South Korean authors’ society KOMCA has reported a record year for collections. Given South Korea’s advanced recorded-music market, much of KOMCA’s gains in recent years have come from digital sources and last year was no exception. Digital, which overtook performance five years ago to become the collection society’s biggest revenue source, accounted for close to half of domestic receipts last year with both streaming and audiovisual registering a particularly positive 12 months. However, income from mechanical reproduction scored the highest growth with a boom in CD sales driving up the collection source. In contrast, performance revenue was down almost one third with both karaoke and live concerts suffering from measures imposed to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. International income topped the previous year’s record with the popularity of K-pop boosting the overseas total.

National trade groups detail recorded-music sales with streaming and vinyl the big positives
In March, the IFPI published global recorded-music trade results for last year. Total sales, which were made up of physical and digital formats and services, performance rights, and synchronization revenue, increased 7.4%, to $21.6bn from $20.2bn in 2019. The rise, which compared with an uptick of 9.7% in 2019, marked the sixth consecutive year of growth. Since the global results were released, a number of national trade associations and retail groups have published local market figures. Although the level of detail differs between countries, all the results show a year-on-year rise in trade/retail sales with streaming the big growth provider. Most countries suffered a drop in sales of physical formats, with the size of the decline exaggerated by the impact on each countries’ retail sector from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the vinyl revival continued and, in some countries, revenue from the age-old format overtook CDs.

Indie music moves the needle in a hot Asian recorded-music market
The Chinese music market, as well as other territories in the Asia region, is attracting a lot interest from recorded-music’s big guns at the moment as revenue continues to rise. There’s also a sizable amount of focus on the independent music scene with both WMG and Merlin among those making significant plays across Asia. This is a hugely diverse region, however, and the one-size fits all strategy traditionally adopted in western markets won’t work in Asia. Local knowledge will be a key determinant of success, so the business of both hiring experienced Asian executives and allying with national independent record companies will be crucial.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with China country report

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

Ninth Circuit set to decide whether royalties are payable in California on pre-1972 recordings
The almost never-ending legal battle between artists Flo & Eddie and the satellite radio broadcaster SiriusXM is currently the subject of a Ninth Circuit appeal. Almost seven years ago, a California district court ruled that SiriusXM should pay royalties for the broadcast of pre-1972. SiriusXM appealed the decision, but only after agreeing an out-of-court settlement with the two artists. The size of the damages payment by SiriusXM to the artists was dependent on the outcome of the appeal in California, as well as two other appeals to district court rulings in New York and Florida. In its Ninth Circuit challenge, SiriusXM claimed that California has historically recognized a performance right in sound recordings under state copyright law and so no royalties are due for the broadcast of legacy recordings. However, Flo & Eddie claim that California state law grants authors exclusive ownership of sound recordings and so royalties on pre-1972 works are due.

Science backs a return to controlled live music performance
The live music industry is approaching the one-year anniversary of the shuttering of its business. Single performances, tours, and music festivals were ruled no-go activities as part of a global move to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Venues have been left empty and music promoters have seen revenue almost dry up. There is though some optimism that all is not lost. In addition to national vaccination programs rolling out around the world, a number of experiments and studies have shown that under certain controlled conditions, the spread of the virus and the rate of new infections can be minimized. Already governments are looking at ways of opening up events to paying visitors and although numbers for the first set of live concerts and festivals will be reduced, there is a real possibility that performing in front of a live audience will return sooner rather than later.

TikTok ups the tempo to become a key music force
TikTok continues to take the music business by storm. The company had a very strong 2020 when it more than proved its ability to both promote hit songs and break new artists. It’s little wonder, then, that TikTok has been able to sign a raft of licensing deals over the past 12 months, agreements that will see the video platform collaborating with rights holders, artists, and record companies around the globe over the course of this year and beyond. Expect to see longer-form content becoming more prevalent this year, with live-streamed performances the obvious way to go during the pandemic. In addition, TikTok is proving a great platform for identifying emerging artists while clubs and arenas are mothballed. But record companies need to ensure that they are not edged out in this space by new rivals.

China country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed China music industry report. China is the world’s most populous country with slightly more than 1.4 billion people. Although the population is set to keep rising for the next 10 years or so, the impact of the one child policy will come in to play from 2030 onwards when the population is expected to edge downwards. China also has the world’s second biggest economy, behind the US. For the final quarter of last year, GDP increased 6.5% compared with the prior year period. China’s relatively buoyant economy is reflected in several sectors of the country’s music industry. Often described as an emerging market, retail sales in China show the country is more than living up to its long-held potential. China’s digital infrastructure is highly developed and with smartphone penetration on the rise, all the requirements for digital growth are firmly in place. Royalty collections have grown consistently for the last nine or so years. However, given the size of the population and level of music use, rights holders’ earnings measured at a per capita rate are tiny.

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