New issue of Music & Copyright with Indonesia country report

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

Gains for digital and physical boost US recorded-music sales to a seventh year of growth
US trade group the RIAA has reported another year of rising trade and retail sales of recorded-music. Streaming was again the main growth provider, with $900m extra from the five different streaming categories. Such has been the rise in all things access, streaming revenue alone last year was more than $1bn higher than the entire US recorded-music market in 2020. There was, however, a notable decrease in the growth rates for the different streaming subsectors. For example, paid subscriptions and subscriber revenue both rose at single-digit percentage points. Also, performance rights distributions by SoundExchange were down year-on-year. Physical sales were boosted by the continued renaissance of vinyl, with the increase in sales of the age-old format more than offsetting a sharp decline in spending on CDs. Unit sales of vinyl exceeded CDs for the first time since 1987.

Slowdown in subscription and vinyl sales as BPI reports UK recorded-music results
UK music trade association the BPI has reported a positive 12 months for recorded-music trade sales. However, the overall growth rate was down sharply on the prior year. Perhaps most concerning is the slowdown in revenue from music subscriptions, with the year-on-year rise in the low single-digit percentage points. Audio advertising registered healthy growth, and income from video streaming was also up. The resurgence of vinyl continued, with revenue from the format overtaking CDs for the first time in 35 years. But the low growth rate compared with 2021 suggests the renaissance of the age-old format may be coming to an end. Both performance rights and synchronization continued to bounce back after a tough 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

K-pop’s growing popularity spawns a clash of the genre giants
The ongoing success of K-pop, both in its home South Korean market and overseas, sparked a spot of corporate warfare among the sector’s leading protagonists. SM Entertainment (SMEnt) became the takeover target of both major South Korean tech group Kakao and rival K-pop outfit HYBE. The latter now looks to have withdrawn from the fray—both companies’ efforts have been complicated by familial rivalry, bids, and counterbids, along with a court injunction—leaving Kakao the task of persuading SMEnt investors to support its latest bid. Should it succeed, SMEnt is set to emulate HYBE and push K-pop further onto the international stage.

Indonesia country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Indonesia music industry report. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, behind China, India, and the US: the country ended 2022 with 279.1 million inhabitants. Despite its large population, Indonesia has always massively underperformed as a recorded-music market, with the legal sector long struggling to gain a foothold because of persistently high piracy rates. However, music streaming’s success around the world is influencing Indonesia, with a mixture of services now available offering access to several million local and international recordings. The collection of royalties has also changed. In 2019, the government and the different collective management organizations agreed on a one-stop-shop administration, with a single agency given the authority to collect and distribute royalties from commercial music users. The live sector has suffered a couple of bad years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures introduced to control the spread of the virus. Following a sharp fall in ticket sales in 2020, some live performances resumed at the end of 2021, but it was last year that saw a fuller return for the sector, with ticket sales returning to prepandemic levels.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US country report

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

Rise in UK music piracy rates as more consumers supplement legal supply with unlicensed access
While the recorded-music sector continues to see growth in sales from music streaming, piracy still lurks in the background. Not so long ago, easy access to a wealth of unlicensed recorded-music content resulted in trade sales worldwide nosediving. However, the rollout of high-speed internet and the advent of streaming turned recorded-music fortunes around. However, a small number of consumers continue to use illegal means to get their music fix. In February, the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published the results of its latest survey into consumers’ piracy habits across a number of different entertainment sectors. For music, the results were mixed. Almost no consumers were found to be using unlicensed streaming services, but fewer downloaders were sourcing their content from just legal services.

Apple Music gets streaming traction by not being Spotify
Having just seen Spotify’s latest set of quarterly results, we know quite a lot about the world’s largest international music streamer. However, getting metrics on rival outfit Apple Music is a tough task, given that it’s part of the world’s most valuable company and its contribution to a business dominated by iPhone sales is pretty small. But it’s clear that Apple Music is growing steadily and that it is offering a differentiated service to Spotify’s. It needs to continue developing that differentiation to maintain its trajectory while its rival continues to pile the subscribers high. And that shouldn’t be difficult given the breadth of services available to it at the Apple stable.

PRS, LIVENow, and the business of responsible livestreaming licensing
Livestreaming came into its own during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and the segment has become a multibillion-dollar business able to boast large audiences. Some of the biggest audio streaming services are seeing the value of adding video performances to their offerings and are leaning on live concerts both as a marketing tool and as a new revenue stream. However, in common with any form of streaming, the correct licenses are required if rights-holder content is involved. The livestreaming platform LIVENow has fallen foul of licensing requirements and has been taken to task over the problem by the UK authors’ society PRS For Music. Howard Ricklow, a partner at law firm Collyer Bristow and specializing in intellectual property matters, has kindly provided Music & Copyright with his thoughts on the dispute, what the current system is for licensing content from an artist for livestreamed concerts, and what the future is likely to be for hybrid content like livestreamed concerts.

US country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed US music industry report. The US is easily the biggest music market in the world. Each year, the country accounts for more than one-third of the total global recorded-music trade sales and approximately 40% of spending on tickets to live music events. Furthermore, the US is home to the single-biggest live music promoter, Live Nation Entertainment, as well as the two leading performers’ rights organizations (PROs), ASCAP and BMI, and the biggest performance rights organization, SoundExchange. In addition to leading the music world, the US is also the world’s biggest economy, with total GDP last year topping $25tn. In December, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said GDP increased 2.9% in the final quarter of last year compared with quarter three. Year-on-year GDP in the last three months grew 1%. The BEA commented that the GDP gains primarily reflected increases in inventory investment and consumer spending that were partly offset by a decrease in housing investment.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US report

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

New CMA study to shine an investigative spotlight on the UK streaming market
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the nonministerial government department in charge of competition issues in the country, has published details of a study it has launched to examine the workings of the music streaming market. Under the CMA spotlight will be the roles played by record labels and music streaming services and how well the market is working for consumers. As part of its assessment, the CMA will consider whether innovation is being stifled and if any companies hold excessive power. While focusing on potential harm to consumers, the CMA will also assess whether any lack of competition between music companies could impact on musicians, performers, and authors. Industry stakeholders have been invited to submit comments on a number of key issues by mid-February. The market study report will be published by the end of January next year at the latest.

Spotify backs Joe Rogan after Neil Young labels the service a damaging force for misinformation
Following a Joe Rogan podcast that aired controversial opinions on COVID-19 and the rollout of vaccinations, rock veteran Neil Young called on Spotify, exclusive host of the podcast, to pull Rogan from the service. Although the music streaming service decided to reinforce its platform rules and add a content advisory label to any podcast episodes that include a discussion about COVID-19, Young was not satisfied and so pulled his music from the platform. Although a small number of other artists have followed suit in support, no snowball effect has taken place. Moreover, none of the most popular artists on the service have commented publicly on the fallout or offered support to the dissenters. Spotify’s share price took a knock from the furor for much of January but rallied at the end of the month after the service published its platform rules and Rogan posted a video on Instagram explaining his reasons behind the content included in the podcast.

Music streamer Anghami eying opportunities outside of MENA
Anghami has done a good job developing music streaming services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), in the process becoming the largest provider in the region. The company has just completed its stock exchange listing in New York, raising capital to feed ambitions that include developing a new record company together with SME and building a string of new music venues and recording studios across MENA, as well as internationally. Anghami now needs to boost revenue, and to achieve that it has go beyond the string of partnerships it has in place with mobile operators that has helped it build a strong streaming position. Given the low level of credit card use in the region, maybe the company could join forces with a fintech to help develop an innovative—and lucrative—payments solution.

Detailed US country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed US music industry report. The US is the biggest music market in the world. Each year the country accounts for around one-third of the total global recorded-music sales and approximately 40% of spending on tickets to live music events. Furthermore, the US is home to the single-biggest live music promoter, Live Nation Entertainment, as well as the two leading authors’ rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI, and the biggest performance rights organization, SoundExchange. On the not-so-positive side, the US boasts the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, and the spread of the virus in the country since early 2020 has impacted, to varying degrees, all music industry sectors. Live music has been the hardest hit with the concert sector shuttered for most of 2020 and large parts of 2021. Given the popularity of music streaming, consumption stats for the last couple of years have proved something of a welcome distraction, with the latest figures showing last year’s recorded-music consumption total topping the previous year’s record.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US country report

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

US music industry stakeholders breath a collective sigh of relief as the DoJ decides not to amend the consent decrees
US performing rights organizations (PROs) ASCAP and BMI can breathe a sigh of relief that the completion of the latest review by the Department of Justice (DoJ) of the consent decrees under which the PROs operate has ended with a recommendation of no changes. The previous two-year review proposed an end to fractional licensing (issuing licenses for only the percentage of compositions administered). A ruling by BMI’s rate court put an end to that proposal. This time around, the DoJ simply acknowledged that change was necessary, but stepped back from making any firm suggestions. The COVID-19 pandemic meant face-to-face meetings with stakeholders was more difficult and is likely to have weighed heavily on the DoJ’s decision to maintain the status quo. However, the DoJ did say that the consent decrees should be reviewed every five years to assess whether the they were continuing to achieve their objective of protecting competition.

Second straight year of INR1bn+ collections for IPRS
India’s authors’ society IPRS has reported a third straight year of growth for royalty collections and a new record for total income. Following on from a year that saw IPRS celebrate its 50th year in business, the authors’ society registered sharp growth in domestic receipts with the total boosted by a jump in TV broadcasting income. Radio registered the highest collection growth rate, but collections from radio broadcasters remain stymied by a legal dispute dating back eight years. Public performance income was flat year-on-year. However, the current financial year is likely to see a big fall in public performance receipts because of the impact on the live industry and the hospitality and retail sectors from COVID-19.

A good year for livestreamed music with more to come in 2021
Livestreamed music looks to have made the most out of 2020. When COVID-19 restrictions first closed down clubs, music halls, and festivals, virtual broadcast performances seemed to offer little more than comfort to a sector in shock. However, over the course of the year, artists embraced the medium in number, while the livestreamed events themselves grew in scale and scope. At the close of 2020, a series of richer streamed experiences demonstrated not only how far the format had come, but also where it was heading. There’s also opportunity for emerging artists as new, affordable products have come to market to service their needs. Livestreaming is set to become a significant part of the live music portfolio even after the pandemic.

US country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed US music industry report. The US is the biggest music market in the world. Each year the country accounts for around one third of the total global recorded-music sales and approximately 40% of spending on tickets to live music events. Furthermore, the US is home to the single biggest live music promoter, Live Nation Entertainment, as well as the two leading authors’ rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI, and the biggest performance rights organization, SoundExchange. On the not so positive side, the country boasts the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world and the spread of the virus in the country has impacted on all music industry sectors. Live music has been the hardest hit with the concert sector effectively shuttered from the second quarter of last year. Given the popularity of music streaming, consumption stats for last year have proved something of a welcome distraction with the latest figures showing last year’s recorded-music consumption total beating the previous year’s record.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US country report

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

Now is the time to get wise with music discovery as devices get smarter
Voice-controlled speakers are increasingly becoming a popular way to consume music in the home, with streaming services coming to the fore on such systems. The larger technology companies have combined their streaming offerings with smart speaker offers. Also, streaming leader Spotify is regularly touted as a late entrant to the smart device sector. Consumers are also turning to other smart devices, in particular connected TVs, which also boast voice-control features. To date, the industry’s experiments with voice-driven equipment has revolved around promotion, and some have proved successful. However, players need to get to grips sooner rather than later with functionality based on oral commands and requests if they are to be relevant in music discovery in the age of Alexa.

Ariana Grande joins the long list of accused high-profile artist copyright infringers
The growing list of plagiarism accusations against high-profile artists saw another addition in January with the claim by US hip-hop artist and singer songwriter Josh Stone that Ariana Grande and her team of songwriters copied his track You Need It, I Got It for the Grande track 7 Rings. Proving plagiarism requires two key elements: To begin with, there must be substantial similarity between the two works in question. Also, it must be proved that an accused has either heard or is presumed to have heard the original work prior to the writing of the infringing track. Stone’s court filing presents evidence for both elements, with expert testimony from two musicologists as well as an account of meetings with a music producer who went on to contribute to the Grande track. Stone has requested damages and all profits attributable to the alleged infringement.

Physical decline signals overall contraction in Japanese recorded-music sales
New figures published by Japanese recorded-music trade association the RIAJ show that the total production value of physical formats was down last year compared with 2018. Both audio and video suffered a decline in production value and units. There were some bright spots in the figures, with the value and volume of domestic repertoire CD albums increasing year on year along with vinyl LPs. Furthermore, the number of domestic Blu-ray music videos produced was up along with the trade value. However, a difficult year for DVDs had a negative effect on the overall video figures and total physical production. Full-year figures for digital trade earnings are set for publication in February. However, based on digital revenue in the first nine months of the year, the world’s second-biggest recorded-music market looks set to register a market decline, albeit a small one.

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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.

Retail sales of recorded music in the US set to break the $10bn mark
US trade group the RIAA has reported another positive half year performance for retail sales of recorded-music. Subscriptions and streaming were again the star performers with growth in access service spending and advertising easily offsetting declines in sales of other formats. With the exception of advertising revenue from statutory services not distributed by SoundExchange, all the different streaming subcategories registered a positive first half of the year with paid subscriptions alone accounting for more than half of the six months’ total retail sales. The revival of vinyl continued with the growth in sales matching the rise in the prior year period. The average number of paying music subscribers increased at a slightly lower rate, but more that 14 million new subscribers were added in the six-month period.

Subscriptions the highlight in a positive first half year for Spanish recorded-music sales
Midyear retail sales figures published by Spanish music trade association Promusicae show the recovery in recorded-music sales has accelerated, with both digital and physical rising year on year. Subscriptions registered a particularly positive six-month period, generating more than half the retail sales total for the first time. Audio and video advertising revenue also increased. Unusually for a developed market, sales of CD albums were up, with consumer spending on vinyl rising sharply. Of the markets that have published sales details for the first half of this year, Spain is the clear leader in terms of growth rate. Moreover, given that subscriptions now generate more than half of the retail total, continued consumer interest in access services should mean a sixth consecutive year of growth as well as longer-term stability for Europe’s sixth-biggest music market.

Sharp rise in digital collections boosts MCSC royalty receipts to new record
Royalty collections in China have increased for the 10th consecutive year. In September the Chinese authors’ society, MCSC, published its business report for 2018, confirming that total collections had topped the previous year’s record and exceeded CNY300m ($41.8m) for the first time. Furthermore, the year-on-year growth rate was more than twice the rate in 2017, and collections have more than doubled in just four years. A new licensing deal with Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) swelled digital collections to more than half the total royalty receipts. Also registering a positive year was live performance and karaoke. Background collections, MCSC’s second-biggest revenue stream, were down, along with TV and radio income.

Classical streaming services targeting the underserved music aficionados
There’s clearly a growing appetite for classical music streaming, but the market’s leading operators aren’t set up to provide true genre enthusiasts with services they need. And that’s down to both the content they can provide and the way they go about organizing it. It’s no surprise, then, that a couple of start-ups have stepped up to serve the classical music fan with more tailored products that are all about granularity. However, both may well be underestimating the aficionado’s propensity to pay, not just for quality recordings, but also for content that enhances the principal audio experience. After all, the classical-music-consuming public is an affluent and discerning demographic that really ought to be fully served by services launched specifically to fulfill their music needs.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US country report

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

The changing role of bundling in the ongoing digital music evolution
Music bundling with mobile subscription packages is a practice that has been around for almost 10 years. Credited with a major role in boosting the take-up of music subscription services, bundling has evolved over the years from the addition of a music service free with a mobile package to more discounted and promotional bolt-ons. There are exceptions, with some mobile operators persisting with the hard bundle. Moreover, the different regions of the world have distinct differences in what is an appropriate bundle. European mobile operators now offer the least friendly music bundles, while operators in Asia remain a mixed bag of hard bundles and promotional offers, with some persisting with their own-developed services rather than partnering with one of the international services. For a long time, US operators chose not to offer music services. However, two of the country’s mobile providers have defied the developed market bundle trend and gone all in with a hard bundle offering.

Japan set for a full-year rise in recorded-music sales
New figures published by Japanese recorded-music trade association the RIAJ show that the total production value of physical formats increased last year compared with 2017. Although audio formats suffered a decline in both value and volume, a big jump in the value of music DVDs and Blu-rays boosted the overall production value. Japan’s dominant physical music format, the CD album, suffered a fall in both value and volume. Only minor physical audio formats registered any growth. Full-year figures for digital trade earnings are set for publication in February, and based on digital revenue in the first nine months of the year, the world’s second-biggest recorded-music market looks set to register an overall increase.

Vivendi bets on streaming to get the most out of UMG sale
Vivendi is looking to sell a big slice of UMG to the highest bidder, at a time when streaming is making the music business a very attractive proposition indeed. Furthermore, UMG is a very appealing asset right now, based on its impressive lineup of artists and on their performances across platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. There is much speculation regarding possible acquirers, with both private-equity firms and media corporations thought to be in the frame. Vivendi is naturally eager to get top dollar, but it has to ensure that any uncertainty created by the proposed sale doesn’t affect the performance of the very asset it is aiming to dispose of.

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New issue of Music & Copyright

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

Competing music sales monitors report good year for US music consumption
US recorded-music consumption registered a very positive 2018, according to consumer research organizations Nielsen and BuzzAngle. Both have reported an increase in the growth rate of recorded-music consumption, with on-demand audio streaming the main driver. Nielsen has so far only released top-line consumption details, while BuzzAngle has published a full report detailing sales and consumption across the different music formats and access platforms. Streaming has attracted all the headlines, but both research companies have also highlighted the continued revival in sales on vinyl albums. Nielsen analysis on sales by genre will follow with the release of its full report, but BuzzAngle has confirmed that hip-hop/rap is the most popular music genre in the US, although the share of sales of the genre varies greatly by format and access method.

Jury set to get it on in Ed Sheeran plagiarism case
Artist and songwriter Ed Sheeran’s attempt to have a copyright infringement claim dismissed has been denied by a New York district court judge. The claim was made by the heirs of Edward B. Townsend, who cowrote the track Let’s Get It On with soul legend Marvin Gaye in 1973. The heirs have claimed that Sheeran copied elements of the Gaye track for the million-selling 2014-penned song Thinking Out Loud, the third single to be released from the album Multiply. Sheeran filed for summary judgement on the grounds that the two songs were not the same and that any similar elements between the songs were not protected by copyright. The filing also questioned whether the daughter of Townsend was legally entitled to make a copyright claim.

Webcast and streaming gains boost IPRS collections
Indian authors’ society IPRS has reported a big rise in collections for the financial year ending March 2018. The increase was the first since 2014 and was largely the result of higher public performance collections and income from webcasting and streaming. Although the collection society only publishes limited revenue details, it did say that receipts from local online radio service Mix Radio and YouTube boosted the overall collection total. Ongoing and lengthy legal action against FM radio broadcasters has so far failed to reverse previous legal rulings that the broadcasters do not have to pay royalties to IPRS for the use of its members’ content. IPRS has also taken legal action to force mobile operators to pay royalties for the use of its members’ music in value-added services such as ringtones and ring-back tones.

UK music consumption and retail sales continue to rise
UK music trade group the BPI and retailers’ association ERA have reported respective growth in music consumption and retail sales. Strong gains in music streaming boosted UK consumption levels and retail sales of recorded music last year. According to the BPI figures, which were supplied by the Official Charts Company (OCC), streaming consumption topped the previous year’s record level, while the revival in vinyl LP sales continued, albeit at a slower rate than in previous years. Data from ERA, also supplied by the OCC, showed that retail sales of music subscriptions were particularly positive. Neither the BPI nor ERA figures included any music video details, and so the overall year-on-year growth rate of streaming and digital in consumption and revenue terms will most likely be higher than reported by the two organizations.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US country report

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

Smaller streamers look for an edge in a big-player market
The music-streaming sector’s leading lights made serious moves at the tail-end of last year, and the battle to dominate the subscription segment is set to sharpen in 2018. Amazon, Google, Apple, and Spotify are all looking to gain extra edge in a competitive market, making it difficult for the smaller services to remain relevant and play a leading part in the rapidly evolving sector. However, Pandora, Deezer, and Tidal haven’t given up the fight and are looking to carve out their own segments, largely with the help of bigger partners.

UK ISPs ordered to block access to illegal streaming service servers
Last year, the UK High Court issued its first order to block access to unlicensed streaming service servers. The handing out of blocking orders to an ISP by a court is quite common, and rights holders for several years have applied to courts to force ISPs to prevent their subscribers from accessing websites or torrent trackers that host or provide access to unlicensed music and media content. Given the shift in the way recorded music is accessed now, rather than owned, unlicensed streaming services are growing in number, and so blocking internet users from visiting certain websites is no longer the answer to the problem. At the end of last year, the High Court issued a new blocking order. Like the previous order, the block was to prevent internet users from viewing live soccer matches. The High Court action could have implications for the recorded-music industry’s attempts to prevent internet users from accessing unlicensed content.

Publisher Wixen files copyright infringement lawsuit against Spotify
Spotify has been hit with new legal action accusing it of willful copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed by Wixen Music Publishing at the US District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division, claims that Spotify has reproduced and streamed music penned by its songwriters without permission. The lawsuit, which is requesting the maximum statutory damages for each infringement, described a previous settlement between Spotify and a class action group concerning similar claims as inadequate. It accused the service of building a multibillion-dollar business without ensuring that the music available had been properly licensed. The timing of the lawsuit’s filing was prompted by the introduction of the Music Modernization Act into the House of Representatives which aims at overhauling the US mechanical royalty system. The bill includes a clause preventing rights holders from filing similar mechanical rights–based copyright claims after the end of 2017.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US country report

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

Music industry and consumer support for higher-quality audio streams grows
The idea of making high-resolution (hi-res) or high-definition (HD) music appealing to more than just audiophiles is a step closer following the announcement by a number of recorded-music industry stakeholders at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas that they are to boost their output of high-quality music. Music subscription service Tidal has also enhanced its commitment to high-quality streaming with improvements to the quality of its high-fidelity tier. A number of research reports suggested last year that increased sound quality was growing in importance for consumers who have become accustomed to music streaming. However, with the two biggest digital music service providers in the world, Spotify and Apple, yet to make any significant high-quality music moves, there remain serious questions over the likely success of the renewed push for the delivery of better-quality sound.

Lower collections for IPRS as Delhi court introduces interim rights-licensing process
India’s authors’ society, IPRS, has reported a drop in collections for the financial year ending March 2016. With the exception of the minor income source TV broadcasting, all revenue streams suffered a fall. IPRS commented that unfavorable court rulings and litigation were the main reasons for the income reduction. IPRS has also been instructed by a Delhi court not to issue any new licenses for the next three months. The interim order, which also affects licenses issued by the performance rights organizations (PROs) Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) and Novex Communications, was made on the grounds that the PROs are unregistered and so are operating in contravention of India’s copyright act.

Live music set to register another record year for ticket sales
Assessing the performance of the live-music sector from one year to the next at anything beyond a national level is speculative at best. Unlike its recorded-music counterpart, which is well organized under the auspices of the IFPI, the live industry has no all-encompassing trade association. Moreover, despite the emergence in recent years of a small number of corporate promoters, the live industry is not controlled by a few players, unlike the recorded-music sector, which is dominated by the three majors. However, some guidance can be gained from the results of the corporate live leaders. Based on their financial details for the first nine months of last year, the live music industry is likely to have registered a positive 2016. Although the individual performances of each company differed, the combined earnings for the featured promoters showed positive overall growth. Moreover, share price gains over the last 12 months for four of the six companies pointed to ongoing city approval for the live entertainment sector.

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