As per CISAC Global Collection Report, Records an increase in income by 77.6% over two years, driven by the rapid growth of streaming
The Paris-based International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) is the apex body of 228 Authors’ Societies in 119 countries representing more than 4Mn creators. India, 1st November 2022: Capturing the worldwide study, CISAC has just released its Global Collections Report for 2022 (based on 2021 collections data). According to the CISAC report, global collections for 2021 are at EUR 9.6 billion, with EUR 3.6 billion from broadcast, 1.6. billion from live performances and EUR 3.1 billion from digital. Royalties earned by music creators and publishers grew by +7.2% to EUR 8.48bn in 2021, reversing the previous year’s -11.5% decline. By far, the largest source of growth was from digital, which for the first time exceeded EUR3bn globally. Although that total royalties haul represented a 7.2% rise versus 2020, it remained below pre-COVID levels.
CISAC attributed the slow recovery to the continued slump in live and public performance income in 2021 and a slight decline in the broadcast. “The result illuminates the disastrous impact of the two-year lockdown on live and public performance income, the potential for further digital growth, and the urgent need for actions to unlock more value for creators in the streaming market,” CISAC said.
While capturing the findings from this part of the globe, the report highlights, The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS) ranked as the 5th largest Society by revenues in the Asia-Pacific region. Mentioning the markets that experienced double-digit growth in 2021, India ranked 28th amongst the top 50 societies in Collections from Music globally, growing a whopping 73.8%.
The Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS), a representative body of music composers, lyricists, and music publishers, created a new benchmark by distributing royalties amounting to Rs. 2100 million in 2021, an increase of 15% from the previous year. IPRS also reported a rise in income by 77.6% over two years, driven by the rapid growth of streaming. The Society witnessed an increase of 301.9% in digital revenue during 2019-2021, ranking the second highest.
82% of the IPRS collections are digital. However, encouraging digital growth also reflects a deep-rooted issue. The IPRS continues to face licensing challenges, with multiple users, including homegrown OTT players, major broadcasters, and radio stations, refusing to pay for the use of music. Moreover, insufficient data provided by the Indian broadcast industry triggers inefficiencies blocking the collection and, eventually, the distribution of royalties. As the need of the hour, all relevant stakeholders, the industry, and the Government must intervene to ensure proper enforcement of the law and uphold the rights of music creators and the rightful owners of the music.
Mr. Javed Akhtar, Chairman of IPRS, said, “As IPRS, we’ve not only managed to absorb the hard knocks of the pandemic but have also provided financial assistance to many of our beleaguered members with a jump of 82% in revenue. It was possible due to our ability to do the needful in the time of calamity, and our team at IPRS, led by our CEO Mr. Rakesh Nigam, deserves special mention for this.”
On the CISAC report findings, CISAC President Mr. Björn Ulvaeus commented, “Digital royalties collected by CISAC societies are growing impressively, but the streaming world is still unfinished business when it comes to ensuring a fair environment to earn a living. Too much data needed to identify and remunerate creators is incomplete or missing when works are ingested on streaming services. The result is a lot of money left on the table when it should go into creators’ pockets.”
“After the 10% fall experienced in 2020, our societies’ return to growth last year is impressive. Bearing that income from live concerts and public venues was largely non-existent, many of our member’s acceleration digital licensing to offset the decline in other areas is a real success story. The recovery is only half made, though. There is, without a doubt, much more room for growth; to achieve that, we need to bring more value to creative works in the digital market and promote a fairer ecosystem for creators.”
