Collections from live shows spur creatives

 In South Africa, a decline of 12.2 percent was driven by reduced viewer numbers, whilst Zimbabwe and Algeria saw declines in the broadcast income of 21.8 percent and 7.9 percent. Outside South Africa, royalties from broadcasters are lower than those from live and public performances, a reflection of the difficulties in collecting TV and radio income in the region. According to the report, live and background income now stands at one-quarter above the pre-pandemic level.

 Live and background collections make up 23.9 percent of African revenues and grew by 13.6 percent during the year to reach €19.4m (Shs75b). This was driven by the strong return of post-pandemic live events and an in- creased focus on licensing. In South Africa, the number of live events was bolstered by the local trade organisation’s increased enforcement of music licences, which drove a seven-fold increase in revenue from this sector. Background use of music also grew as bars and restaurants returned.

Together, live and background made up 18 percent of the country’s total. Collections in Malawi grew by 61.8 percent, while Mauritius and Namibia rose by 88.7 percent and 29.5 percent, respectively. A new contract with Majestic movie theatres in Côte d’Ivoire helped drive collections from this sector to a €4.7m (Shs18b) record high.

Digital revenues increase

The report shows that digital growth is supported by cooperative agreements. Digital revenues increased for the third year in succession, growing +5.0 percent across the region to reach €13.5m (Shs52b).

Three-quarters of collections were made in South Africa, where a rise of 10.2 percent drove the total above €10m (Shs37b) for the first time. This was supported by the joint licensing agreement between the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and CAPASSO, a digital rights licensing agency based in Johannesburg, which collects and distributes royalties to its members: music publishers and composers. In many countries, digital revenues decreased slightly, but Côte d’Ivoire grew by 6.2 percent, adding €715,000 (Shs2.8b) to the regional total. The fastest growth came in Botswana, Namibia and Malawi, although from a relatively small base. Private copying is a key source of income for creators, and this was illustrated in the Africa region in 2023 as income from private copying grew 28.5 percent to €12m (Shs46b).

The largest driver was a 24.5 percent rise in Morocco, where half of the year’s collections were made. Income in Malawi in- creased by 79.2 percent. Côte d’Ivoire revenues grew more than three-fold, while Guinea made collections for the first time. The private copying data illustrates the importance of the new regional directive harmonising rules on private copying. This directive was adopted by the eight-member-state UEMOA (West African Economic Monetary Union) in September 2003. Royalty collections worldwide The report shows that global royalty collections for creators grew by 7.6 percent to a new high of €13.1b in 2023. The increase was driven by continued steady growth in digital income and a strong recovery in live concerts and public performance, which became the last sector to recover fully from the pandemic. Following a decade of annual double-digit percentage growth, digital collections increased by a more modest 9.6 percent to €4.6 billion, with the streaming subscription market starting to mature in larger territories. Having overtaken TV and radio to become creators’ biggest income stream in 2022, digital moved further ahead in 2023, making up 35 percent of total collections. This compares to 30 percent for broadcast and 25 percent for live and public performance.

Despite the growth in royalties coming from digital platforms, the vast majority of creators say streaming income cannot support a career or livelihood. This is especially true for those outside the small coterie of highly successful artists, and those who cannot rely on other income streams such as performing live to build their career. Royalty collections from TV and radio broadcasters fell by four percent in 2023 and were a mere 0.7 percent above their 2019 level, reflecting the decline in viewer numbers and TV advertising income.

Night economy on track The Live and Public Performance in- come stream, which includes concerts, exhibitions and licensing of venues and businesses, continued its robust recovery across all regions. Collections in this category grew by 22 percent to reach an all-time high of €3.3 billion. “This report gives a unique overview of the economic and cultural value of our global CISAC community. This year’s figures, for royalties collections by CISAC members in 2023, paint a positive picture of a healthy, stable and promising sector,” CISAC Director General Gadi Oron noted, adding: “Overall, collections on behalf of creators reached a new all-time high of €13.1 billion, an impressive 7.6 percent increase. This, in itself, is a major achievement and shows the strength of the collective management system.

“Today, we are on the cusp of an enormous change. AI is shaking up our landscape, and, even as it does so, its impact is still unknown. Generative AI tools are producing content that is copied from, and risk replacing the works of human creators. I am a user and a big fan of AI tools. I have always believed we can only ever embrace new technology, not try and stop it – but there is a rock-solid caveat: this must never be at the cost of compromising copyright and human rights,” noted Björn Ulvaeus, the CISAC president. “The recent studies estimating what this could cost to creators in lost income, from France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, are an alarm call to us all. I believe a badly-regulated AI environment could wipe out many artists’ careers. That could be the next Paul Mc-Cartney or Taylor Swift,” he added.

Marcelo Castello Branco, the CISAC board chairperson, said the 2024 CISAC Global Collections Report shows “a successful performance by the CISAC global network, and we should take a moment to celebrate our achievements.” He warned against resting on laurels before pushing for a rejection of “the notion that creation—whether in music, audiovisual, visual arts, literature, or drama—is merely a commodity or a tool in the attention economy.” The market environment, he proceeded to observe, “is full of uncertainties, and while we take pride in present growth, our priority now needs to be long-term sustainable growth to ensure the livelihoods of the creators we represent.”

FURTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Insight into the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact gathered by CISAC from 100 member music societies revealed a marked difference in the performance of live concerts and background music. Live music royalties have risen by 24 percent since 2019, while the background has increased by a modest 6.1 percent.

Other live income channels such as karaoke, have yet to recover from the pandemic. The report also noted that while broadcast is declining, it remains resilient. For instance, despite no longer being creators’ main income stream, TV and radio collections remained resilient last year (-0.4 percent).

All repertoires covered by CISAC member societies grew in 2023, with the exception of visual arts, which suffered from a weaker art market. The drama was the fastest-growing repertoire for a second successive year, with in- come increasing by 24.9 percent as theatre and drama performances continued to recover after the pandemic. Music was the biggest sector, rising by 7.6 percent to €11.75 billion. Collections increased in every region, led by Latin America, which saw a 29.2 percent increase to €791m. This was helped by a strong local repertoire in major markets, including Brazil and Mexico. Wes- tern Europe remained the biggest region with income increasing by 7.9 percent to €6.7 billion and accounting for 50.9 percent of all collections.

The annual report published by CISAC provides comprehensive data and analysis of collections across all repertoires, including music, audiovisual, visual arts, literature and drama. CISAC brings together 227 collective management organisations in 116 countries/territories and five regions. These collective management organisations represent more than five million creators active in five major repertoires: music, audiovisual, visual arts, literature and drama.