CISAC publishes new Global Collections Report

Paris, France – 27 October 2015: The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) released its 2015 GLOBAL COLLECTIONS REPORT, concerning global royalty collections for the year 2014.

The total royalties collected in 2014 by CISAC’s 230 member societies, on behalf of the four million creators they represent around the world, returned to growth after a stable 2013. They amounted to €7.9 billion, up 2.8% from 2013. Had exchange rates not changed, total royalty collections would have grown 5% year-on-year.

Reflecting its commitment to bringing more information to the market faster, CISAC publishes a second economic report before the end of 2015, taking stock of the royalties collected worldwide by its member societies in the course of the previous year (2014). The first report published by CISAC this year (in February) concerned the figures for 2013.

Key trends:

Geographically, Europe continues to lead the world in royalty collections.

In terms of artistic repertoires, music remains the pillar of creators’ income.

Digital collections show promising signs and form a dynamic springboard for further growth.

• Totalling over €7.9 billion, the royalties collected globally by CISAC member societies rose again in 2014 (+ 2.8%) following a stable year in 2013.
• Music repertoire continued to generate the bulk of collections (87% of the total) and the royalties collected for music use grew 2.4% year-on-year.
• Other repertoires (audiovisual, drama, literature and visual arts) generated royalties that grew by 5.2%. The two strongest areas of growth were in audiovisual (+5%) and in visual arts (+16.5%).
• Performing Rights collections, which represent 79% of total royalty collections, were up 3.8%.
• Mechanical Reproduction Rights collections continued to decline, down 9% year-on-year.
• Royalties collected from digital & multimedia services (for all repertoires combined) grew 20.2% year-on-year.
• 99% of the amounts collected from digital & multimedia services were for the use of music repertoire.
• Europe, the region generating the most royalties (61.3% of the total, equating to €4.9 billion), posted year-on-year growth of 4.1%, higher than its GDP growth.
• Canada-USA, CISAC’s second largest region with almost 17% of total royalty collections, showed the strongest increase in 2014 (+6.2%). 
• The BRICS countries posted growth of 11%, an encouraging trend but slower than the 2013/2012 growth rate (+ 30%). BRICS countries account for 5% of global royalty collections.

Commenting on the findings, CISAC Director General Gadi Oron stated:

We are pleased to release a second Global Collections Report in 2015, reflecting CISAC’s commitment to reporting its members’ royalty data in a timely manner that meets today’s rapid and dynamic market.

2014 saw a return to growth, with a 2.8% increase in global collections. Almost all artistic repertoires grew by at least 2%: music collections were up 2.4%, visual arts royalties showed the strongest growth (+16.5%) and audiovisual saw the next highest increase, growing 5% year-on-year.

Performing rights, which represent the vast majority of our members’ collections (79%), posted an increase of 3.8% year-on-year.

Europe, CISAC’s largest region in terms of royalty collections, grew a solid 4.1%. Canada-USA, CISAC’s second largest region, was up 6.2%, the highest growth rate of any region. Latin America collections grew 2% and Asia-Pacific royalties were again negatively impacted by foreign exchange rates, the second year in a row (-5.3%). BRICS countries showed a promising increase of 11% year-on-year, following a very strong 2013 when collections were up 30%.

CISAC President Jean-Michel Jarre said:

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.

Further detail

By region

Growth was driven by Europe and North America, which generated the bulk of royalty collections (61.3% and 16.7%, respectively) whereas Asia-Pacific was affected by unfavourable exchange rates for the second year in row (-5.3%) and Africa experienced a slight dip (-1.6%).

By type of rights

Public performing rights posted a growth of 3.8%, climbing to €6.2 billion. The decline in reproduction rights collections (-9% in 2014) continued, reflecting the decline in the market for physical products. Collections for “other rights” grew (+30.6%), particularly those from private copying levies and the resale right for the visual arts.

By repertoire

Music, which generated the lion’s share (87%) of global collections, rebounded (+2.4%) after a slight decline in 2013. Television and radio (€3.2 billion, +2.2% on 2013) followed by live and recorded music in public places (€2.2 billion, +0.8% on 2013) remained by far the largest revenue streams for creators. A positive trend in private copying levies, growing 37.1% year-on-year to reach €206 million, and in royalties from digital and multimedia (up 20.2% to €512 million) should also be noted.

The growth recorded by the audiovisual repertoire (+5% to €499 million) was driven by cinema (+49.7%) and private copying levies (+48.5%). Visual arts, still the smallest sector in terms of royalty collections (€142 million), showed the strongest growth (+ 16.5%), due particularly to the increase in revenues from digital & multimedia (+26.4%) and from the resale right (+9.9%).

Digital & multimedia

The vast majority of digital & multimedia growth (+20.2%) came from the music repertoire. Gadi Oron commented:

As the world continues to move to a digital landscape, our societies continue with their efforts to answer market demands and offer new licensing solutions.

The share of digital income out of global collections is now 6.5%, with music accounting for over 99% of digital collections. This demonstrates the impressive progress music societies have made, but also highlights the opportunities that exist in the digital market for other repertoires. 

Our data this year highlights the shift in the digital market from downloads to streaming, with mechanical royalties for digital use falling (-29.1%) while performance rights income from digital services increased sharply (+56.7%). As consumer behaviour evolves, licensing structures are adjusted but the main challenge remains to ensure fair remuneration for creators. CISAC will continue to work with its societies, digital service providers and decision-makers towards this goal.

NB: A number of improvements were made to the data. Some categories have been renamed so that they better describe the use of the works. In the previous report, ‘Other Rights’ included significant amounts declared by societies. For this report, these collections have been further investigated and have been reclassified more accurately. We have applied these changes to 2012 and 2013 data, ensuring that it can be compared to the current year on a like-for-like basis. Societies may have updated their results since the previous publication (February 2015). As such, published historic data may vary from previous reports. We recommend using this report as the authoritative document.