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CISAC releases 2014 collective licensing figures

By | Published on Tuesday 27 October 2015

CISAC

CISAC, the society of collecting societies, if you can imagine such a thing, has put out its latest pack of stats. And if you can’t believe a whole year has passed since the last time the organisation revealed global figures for the music publishing sector’s collective licensing system, well, that’s because it isn’t. CISAC put out 2013 figures back in February, but now has 2014 stats ready, in a bid to get information out to stakeholders more quickly.

CISAC brings together nearly all of the collecting societies that work for songwriters and music publishers around the world, including those focused on so called performing rights and mechanical rights, and, where they apply, other collectively managed revenue streams like private copy levies. Though not all CISAC-affiliated societies deal in song rights, with some representing creators in the audiovisual, dramatic, literary and visual art domains, so not all the figures relate to songs.

Headline stats this time include the news that in 2014 overall collections were up 2.8% on 2013 – a 5% increase had exchange rates not changed – to 7.9 billion euros. Songs account for 87% of collected monies, and that income was up 2.4% year-on-year.

Unsurprisingly, mechanical rights income, mainly generated when record companies sell CDs and downloads, was down 9% year-on-year, but performing rights revenues were up 3.8%. Streams are usually classified as exploiting both mechanical and performing rights, though often more income is allocated to the latter.

Societies in Europe accounted for 61.3% of collected revenue, while North America was the second largest region, accounting for nearly 17%. The so called BRICS emerging markets accounted for 5% of monies, which is up 11% on the previous year.

Commenting on the latest report, CISAC President Jean-Michel Jarre told reporters: “As I travel the world, I find it very gratifying to be exposed to the wonderful wealth of talent that is out there – especially from younger generations – and I am constantly reminded of creators’ overwhelming expectation to be treated with respect and receive fair remuneration for any use of their works. We creators stand behind our societies as they adapt to new market conditions, and new challenges, to further grow their collections”.

You can download the report here.



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