The world’s impartial music publishers noticed a 5.1% 12 months over 12 months improve in income in 2024, based on a brand new report from the Unbiased Music Publishers Discussion board (IMPF).
The IMPF’s International Market View report, launched on Wednesday (December 17), discovered indie publishers collected EUR €2.7 billion globally in 2024, or USD $2.9 billion on the common trade fee for the 12 months.
By comparability, the worldwide recorded music market grew 4.8% YoY in 2024, based on information from IFPI, reaching $29.6 billion. Music publishing revenues within the US – together with majors and indie publishers – grew 13.4% YoY in 2024 to $7 billion, based on information from the RIAA.
The IMPF, which represents greater than 300 indie music publishers worldwide, based mostly its estimates for indie writer income on information from CISAC, famous music trade economist Will Web page, and Music & Copyright.
Indie music publishers have seen general income development yearly since IMPF began monitoring the info in 2018. In that point, general income grew 116%, the report discovered.
Europe stays the biggest supply of indie music writer income, accounting for 51.2% of worldwide collections in 2024, with €847.5 million ($917.2 million) going to indie publishers. The overwhelming majority of that (€785.6 million, or $850.2 million) got here from Western Europe, with Central and Japanese Europe bringing in €61.9 million ($67.0 million). Nonetheless, the CEE area had “by far” the very best development fee in collections, up 17.9% YoY, the IMPF report famous.
Far behind in second place is North America (the US and Canada), delivering €461.4 million ($499.4 million) to indie publishers.
“Europe’s place because the world’s main area for music royalties isn’t any coincidence. It’s the results of robust copyright safety, sturdy licensing frameworks and well-developed collective administration infrastructures that guarantee creators and rightsholders are correctly rewarded,” mentioned Claudia Mescoli, Common Supervisor at Edizioni Curci and an IMPF Board member.
“This basis permits European repertoire to thrive at residence and around the globe, giving impartial publishers and songwriters the boldness to speculate, innovate and develop. Europe exhibits what is feasible when the worth of creativity is backed by a strong and dependable rights ecosystem.”
Marta Zgrzywa, COO, Schubert Music Publishing, famous that Japanese Europe “is turning into one of the thrilling areas for impartial music publishers. We’re seeing fast development, stronger native markets and a brand new technology of creators who’re prepared to achieve international audiences.”
She added: “With enhancing licensing buildings and growing professionalism throughout societies, the area is lastly unlocking the worth of its unbelievable repertoire. For independents, Japanese Europe represents each alternative and momentum, a spot the place funding, collaboration and long-term dedication could make an actual distinction.”
Different components of the world are displaying notable enchancment in publishing royalty assortment, with the report singling out India.
“The dramatic transformation of IPRS [the Indian Performing Right Society], now surpassing €80 million in annual collections, is a case research in how improved licensing circumstances, information accuracy, governance and worldwide cooperation can quickly improve revenue for publishers and songwriters,” the IMPF report said.
When it comes to market share, indie music publishers held regular at 26.3% of worldwide music writer revenues. That excludes indie publishers with greater than 5% market share, specifically BMG and Kobalt.
“Taken collectively, the impartial music publishing neighborhood remains to be bigger than the most important main music writer,” famous Annette Barrett, President of IMPF and an government at Reservoir, in her preamble to the report.
Barrett was referring to Sony Music Publishing, which barely elevated its market share in 2024 to 25.2% from 24.9% a 12 months earlier. That locations Sony forward of its main opponents, Common Music Publishing Group and Warner Chappell Music, with the three main publishers mixed holding 60.6% of the worldwide music publishing market in 2024.
Indie music publishers have had a bigger market share than the biggest of the majors for your complete time that information has been monitoring the info, Music & Copyright Editor Simon Dyson mentioned.
“The sector topped the 40% mark in 2015 and stayed above this degree till 2023. Nonetheless, the tussle on the high between Sony and Common has put the squeeze on the independents,” he mentioned.
“Furthermore, smaller writer acquisitions by the majors will nearly definitely see the hole slim additional. The larger indies like Kobalt and BMG have held regular, however there are issues for the smaller gamers, notably given the growing dominance of digital.”
“Europe’s place because the world’s main area for music royalties isn’t any coincidence. It’s the results of robust copyright safety, sturdy licensing frameworks and well-developed collective administration infrastructures that guarantee creators and rightsholders are correctly rewarded.”
Claudia Mescoli, Edizioni Curci
Tatjana Bukvic, Managing Director at Tin Drum Music and an IMPF Board member, mentioned indie publishers managed to take care of their market share “regardless of robust competitors for catalogs and ongoing waves of acquisitions.”
After three years of declining market share, the regular print in 2024 “says rather a lot concerning the spirit of entrepreneurship of IMPF’s membership and the laborious work put into their companies by publishers around the globe,” she added.
The report additionally targeted on what it sees as a threat to songwriters’ and music publishers’ revenues from the proliferation of AI. The report cited latest research from SGAE in Spain and KODA in Denmark, which backed up earlier reviews {that a} quarter or extra of music income might dry up within the age of AI. SGAE’s research particularly estimated that round 28% of copyright revenues in Spain will likely be in danger from generative AI by 2028.
“Extrapolating these figures from the worldwide market worth in 2024, this might imply that €3.5 billion in collections might be in danger, of which €465 million would immediately come out of the revenues of impartial publishers,” the IMPF report said.
“If the steadiness ideas too far in the direction of non-human outputs, we threat ending up in a music panorama none of us would want to be a part of.”
Annette Barrett, IMPF
IMPF is “totally alert to this problem,” Barrett wrote within the report.
“Along with creators and rightsholder organizations, we’re urgent policymakers to acknowledge that unlicensed AI use can have a devastating impression on our livelihoods. With out correct safety, transparency and compensation, a human-centered music ecosystem might shortly erode.”
She added: “As publishers, we consider deeply in human creativity and within the relationships we construct with our authors and composers. This relationship is not only the inspiration of our enterprise; it’s the coronary heart of it. We will embrace innovation whereas defending the important function of human creation. But when the steadiness ideas too far in the direction of non-human outputs, we threat ending up in a music panorama none of us would want to be a part of.”
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