recorded music
Though the RIAA has yet to release revenue numbers for recorded music in the U.S. in 2024, early returns from a handful of international markets are in — and they show that digital revenue maintained or gained momentum last year while physical sales slowed from 2023.
In Germany, the world’s fourth-largest recorded music market, total revenue grew 7.8% to 2.38 billion euros ($2.53 billion) in 2024, trade group Bundesverband Musikindustrie announced earlier this week. That was an improvement on the 6.3% gain seen in 2023 and the 6.1% gain in 2022. Notably, audio streaming, which accounted for 78% of total revenue, grew 12.6% to 1.86 billion euros ($1.98 billion), an improvement on the 7.9% gain in 2023 but below the 14.0% spike seen in 2022.
The full year ended with the same momentum Germany established in the first half of 2024. Through June, total revenue was up 7.6% and audio streaming was up 12.7%, while physical sales — which were down 11.9% through June — improved in the second half of the year, leading to a less-drastic 7.4% drop below 2023 revenue.
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On the physical front, Germany’s vinyl sales improved 9.4% to 153 million euros ($163 billion) in 2024, accounting for 6.4% of total revenue — though they cooled a bit from 2023, when sales increased 12.6%. However, CD sales fell 17.1% to 207 million euros ($220 million) last year, a markedly steeper decline than the 5.9% drop seen in 2023.
In Spain, recorded music revenue grew 9.4% to 569 million euros ($606 million), according to Promusicae, the country’s trade association for the record industry. That was down from growth rates of 12.4% and 12.3% in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Audio streaming totaled 376 million euros, up 14.1% year over year, and accounted for 66% of total revenue. But just as in Germany, physical sales plummeted. Total physical sales fell 13.3% to 54 million euros ($57 million), with vinyl sales sinking 4% after jumping 19.4% in 2023. Meanwhile, CD sales dropped 25.4%, a much sharper decline than in 2023 (when they were down 1.3%) and comparable to 2022 (down 29.2%).
The Spanish market slowed considerably in the second half of the year, leading to end-of-year gains that were six to seven percentage points lower than mid-year results. Through June, total revenue was up 16.6%, while the year finished with a smaller 9.4% gain. Digital revenue fell from an 18.8% gain at the mid-year mark to a 12.6% gain at the end of the year, and vinyl sales were up 11.9% in June but finished the year down 4% — a nearly 16-percentage point swing.
In Japan, the world’s second-largest recorded music market, physical audio sales rose 2% to 148.96 billion yen ($985 million), a worse showing than in 2023 (when they were up 8%) and 2022 (up 5%), according to the RIAJ. And physical music video sales fell 21% to 90.5 billion yen ($598 million), which brought the total physical market down 8% from 2023.
The RIAJ has not yet published year-end digital numbers, though total digital revenue was up 5% and streaming revenue was up 7% through the third quarter. Japan is unlike most music markets in that physical formats remain the dominant moneymakers. Through September, streaming revenue accounted for 35% of total revenue while physical sales — mostly audio formats — accounted for the remaining 65%.
In the U.S., another data point arrived Thursday (Feb. 27) when ASCAP announced that revenue increased 5.7% to $1.84 billion in 2024, with domestic royalties up 5.3% to $1.4 billion and foreign receipts growing 6.8% to $483 million.
As for U.S. recorded music numbers, RIAA figures are likely to be released in March, assuming the organization sticks to prior timings of its release. Mid-year RIAA data showed the U.S. market increased 3.9% to $8.69 billion, with paid streaming improving 5.1% to $5.22 billion. Physical revenue rose 12.7% and was driven by a 17% increase in vinyl sales. Year-end numbers should benefit from Spotify’s U.S. price increase in July.
The IFPI’s release of 2024 global figures, with a country-by-country breakdown, will offer a more complete picture of global trend lines and reveal how the U.S. fared against other nations. That report is typically released each March.
The recorded music market in Europe is at risk of falling behind other global regions unless regulators enforce tougher protections for artists, creators and rightsholders, according to a new report from international labels trade body IFPI.
In Europe, music sales grew to over $8 billion in 2023, representing more than a quarter of global revenues (28.1%) and maintaining the continent’s long-held status as the second largest region in the world for recorded music sales behind the U.S. and Canada, according to IFPI data.
Europe’s prominent position is coming under threat, however, from other music markets that are growing at faster rates, states IFPI’s first-ever report focused specifically on recorded music in the European Union, published Tuesday (Sept. 10).
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Last year, music sales among the 27 members of the European Union trading block — which the U.K. exited in 2020 — grew by 8.7% to 5.2 billion euros ($5.7 billion), says IFPI. While that places the EU below only the U.S. in total revenue terms, several other international markets are significantly outpacing its growth rate thanks to the widespread global adoption of music streaming services.
Examples cited by IFPI include China, which grew music sales by more than 25% to 1.3 billion euro ($1.4 billion) in 2023; Sub-Saharan Africa, up 25% to 85 million euros ($93 million); Mexico, up 18% to 454 million euros ($500 million); and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which climbed 14% to 102 million euro ($112 million).
Although all of those territories are developing from far lower bases than mature EU markets such as France and Germany — and all have some way to go before they come close to surpassing EU music sales — IFPI said their rapid growth represents “warning signs” that the region is facing strong competition from its global competitors. Notably, some of those fast-growing music markets were virtually non-existent just over a decade ago.
The report, which is titled “Music in the EU: A Global Opportunity,” comes three months after European Parliament elections and ahead of the unveiling of the new European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, which is expected to take place later this month.
The new cohort of Brussels politicians will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing already passed EU legislation such as the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act and the AI Act, which all impact the music business to varying degrees, in some instances significantly.
“The EU is a vitally important place for music,” said IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley in a statement. “However, the data in this report shows us that other parts of the world are developing and growing rapidly and the EU risks falling behind.”
To ensure that the EU’s music market stays competitive, Oakley called on European policymakers to provide “legal certainty and protection for music rightsholders, supporting the development of responsible and ethical AI and creating a competitive playing field on which today’s dynamic music sector can evolve.”
“Today, European music faces great risk but also great opportunity,” Oakley continued. “How policymakers address these issues will help determine its future.”
An accompanying press release from IFPI said its research sets out how policymakers can help “secure a positive future for music at what is a pivotal time for music in Europe” amidst rising global competition.The report notes that when adjusted for inflation, recorded music revenue in the EU last year was only 61% of where they were in 2001, the music industry’s revenue peak.
Specific areas in which IFPI says policymakers can support creators and rightsholders include effective implementation of the EU’s AI Act, which passed earlier this year, and upholding existing EU copyright laws preventing the use of copyright-protected works and music from being used for training AI systems without prior consent. AI developers must also maintain and provide records of the materials used in training and developing generative AI models that enable rightsholders to exercise and enforce their rights, says IFPI.
When it comes to individual EU markets, the report highlights the continued strong performance of domestic acts in their home countries. In the 22 EU markets where IFPI collects yearly chart data, on average, 60% of the Top 10s were tracks by domestic artists in 2023, compared to only 47% in non-EU markets.
EU markets fared less well in terms of top 10 global chart exports, which were once again dominated by U.S. artists like Miley Cyrus, SZA and Taylor Swift last year, though Latin and Central American artists, most notably from Columbia and Puerto Rico, also performed well.
A rebound in performing rights and heightened demand for physical product helped the value of global music copyright reach $41.5 billion in 2022, surpassing the $40 billion mark for the first time, according to a report released Monday (Nov. 6).
While record labels commanded a majority of the global market, the $5 billion annual increase was “evenly shared” between recorded music and music publishing, noted the report’s author, Will Page. The 2022 tally represented a 16% increase at constant currency — and currency fluctuations played a major role. Page restated the value of global music copyright in 2021 to $36.9 billion from $39.6 billion due to updated foreign exchange rates. Almost $2 billion of the nearly $3 billion restatement came from IFPI’s global recorded music revenues, while about $1 billion of the adjustment came from music publishing.
Record labels accounted for $26 billion of the $41.5 billion sum, a 62.7% share that was lower than both 2021 (64.6%) and 2020 (63.5%). Since 2020, a slowdown in labels’ digital revenue has been offset by more than $1 billion in growth from physical formats from “accelerating demand for CDs in Asia” and an “insatiable need” for vinyl records in Europe and the United States: “And this isn’t going to slow down,” predicts Page.
Music publishers increased their share of the global total to 37.3%. Part of the reason publishers outperformed labels could be from what Page calls a “lag effect,” where labels tend to license to new streaming platforms before publishers. Another potential reason for publishers’ improvement is early accruals from the royalty increase in the United States from the Copyright Royalty Board, “a decision that will fully crystalize when the 2023 figures are calculated,” writes Page.
Publishers’ direct revenue rose from $3.7 billion to $4.1 billion but accounted for a smaller 9.9% share of total revenue, down from 10.2% in 2021. Songwriter CMOs rebounded with a 27.5% share of total revenue worth $11.4 billion, after taking a 25.3% share worth $9.2 billion in 2021 and a 27.2% share worth $8.5 billion in 2020. Page attributes CMOs’ improvement to music’s return to the live space after the pandemic, which drives gains in public performance royalties. Also, “inflation is embedded into blanket licenses,” wrote Page, meaning higher prices increase collections when the royalties are calculated as a percentage of revenue. Finally, as CISAC’s Gadi Oron has noted, CMOs have improved collections through a combination of content identification and improved licensing terms.
There’s a chance Page’s $41.5 billion figure is low. The estimate incorporates global recording revenue tallied by the trade group IFPI. But as Page notes in his report, MIDiA Research “has arguably done more research” on segments undercounted by IFPI’s various members, including the do-it-yourself artists who account for 10% of global streams, indie labels and the South Korean market. MIDiA Research put the value of global recorded music in 2022 at $18.9 billion, about 8% greater than the IFPI’s figure of $17.5 billion.
If MIDiA’s methodology is correct, says Page, the value of global copyright is closer to $45 billion than $40 billion and could be $50 billion sooner than people expect. When the music business hits that threshold, it will have doubled since Page’s 2014 report put the global value of music copyright at $25 billion.
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