Global royalty collections for song rights holders rose 7.6% last year, reaching a new high of €11.75 billion ($10.9 billion, based on average exchange rate for 2023), according to CISAC (the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers), the professional organization of collecting societies based in Paris. Much of the growth was driven by two categories: digital collections rose 9.6% to €4.52 billion ($4.18 billion), while live music royalties and backgrounds rose 21.8% – fueled largely by the concert sector – to surpass 2019’s pre-pandemic total.

The major collecting societies have all had good years, but the CISAC report offers an unprecedented insight into a complex but important aspect of the music publishing sector. (CISAC includes other collecting societies outside the music sector, but publishing accounts for most of these royalties, which are, in turn, more important for music than for other businesses. CISAC breaks down royalties (but his figures only include those going through CISAC member companies rather than direct deals.) There are no big surprises here: digital has recently been the main driver of growth, having more than doubled in five years, from 2.06 billion euros ($1.90 billion) in 2019 to 4.52 billion euros ($4.18 billion). ) last year — even though last year’s 9.6% growth was lower than the previous four. Digital now represents 38.5% of collections, more than any other category.

Collections for broadcast and live concerts and background music represent the other two main sources of revenue, accounting for 28.7% and 26.1%, respectively. (Background music refers to compositions played in public, in restaurants, shops or bars, for example.) Television and radio royalties fell by 5.3% to D3.37 billion. euros ($3.11 billion) after a significant increase the previous year. They have remained relatively stable over the past five years.

Live and background music figures are more complicated due to disruptions from the pandemic. Last year, these categories reached 3.06 billion euros ($2.82 billion), fueled mainly by the return of live music revenue, which in some regions may lag behind live music events . More importantly, this represents an increase of 12.7% compared to 2019.

Collecting societies carry out most of their activities in Europe and the United States; CISAC has a category for Western Europe and another for the United States and Canada. Collections in Western Europe increased by 8.2%, while those in the United States and Canada increased by 7.8%. Overall, Europe accounts for more than half of total collecting society revenues, while the United States and Canada together account for 27.1%. Royalties in the Asia-Pacific region fell 0.3%, largely due to currency fluctuations in Japan, without which the region would have grown 6.8%. The fastest growing region is Latin America, up 26.2% – and 108.2% over the past two years – although it only represents 5.9% of the overall market . Africa, where leaders have seen enormous potential for years, is still growing very slowly – up from 3.2% to 0.6% of the overall market.

CISAC’s general collections are also up 7.6%, to €13.09 billion ($12.1 billion), also a record level, with digital up 9.6% to 4.62 billion euros ($4.3 billion). (This includes collecting societies for other media, such as writing and visual arts, which many countries in Europe have.)

Billboard will follow this news with a more in-depth analysis of the growth sectors, the future of the different markets and how this business could develop in the years to come.