The amount of Euros brought in for publishers and songwriters by global collection societies fell slightly by 0.6% to €6.77bn in 2013, according to the new annual report from the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC).
The key reason for the slight dip was weak exchange rates, said CISAC – the figures would have shown growth otherwise. Big drops in global music collections occurred in the TV and video market, down 21%, while income from recorded music sales (‘phonogram’) fell by 5%.
Revenue from digital and multimedia sources brought better news, however, up 25% on 2012. The Live music arena brought another bump, up 3.7%, as did private copying levies, up 5% – and up over 9% in Europe.
CISAC’s total royalties collected in the year for three million authors and creators – across music, literature, audiovisual and more – remained stable at €7.8bn.
Total performing rights collections across all these disciplines grew 2.4%, breaking the €6bn mark for the first time
Gadi Oron, Director General of CISAC, said: “In 2013, CISAC member societies proved once again the importance of collective management of rights for creators around the world. Despite challenging economic conditions in many markets, total royalties collected by CISAC members remained stable.
“Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, an underlying growth of +4.6% in global collections is strongly encouraging for the future of the creative industries globally. Other positive reports include a jump of 16% in royalty collections in Latin America and a sharp increase of 8% in collections for audiovisual repertoire.
The BRICS markets continue to show great promise leaping 30% over the previous year. These countries still have a huge untapped potential, with a mere €0.12 collections per capita as compared with the €1.30 world average.”
The digital market is still relatively underdeveloped for authors. Despite growing 25% year-on-year and reaching €377 million in 2013, it still represents only 5% of the total royalties collected by CISAC societies around the world.
Oron added: “Digital revenues sharply increased in 2013 and we are extremely pleased with this result. Yet, royalty collections from digital services are still far too low and the potential for further growth is significant. In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, it remains a key priority for CISAC members to ensure that creators around the world receive a more equitable share in the online market.”
