Covid-19 led to significant losses in copyright revenue for composers, authors and other creators around the world last year. A new report shows that global copyright revenue fell by 9,9 percent, or more than €1 billion, worldwide in 2020.
/ 27/10/2021 / Willy MartinsenRead the report here: https://www.cisac.org/Newsroom/news-releases/cisac-global-collections-report-shows-creators-royalties-down-eu-1-billion
The total royalties collected for creators of music, literature, audiovisual and visual arts, drama, etc. amounted to a total of 9,32 billion euros worldwide in 2020. This is according to the "CISAC Global Collections report" for 2020, which will be published worldwide on Wednesday, October 27.
The report is backed by CISAC, the world's largest network within the creative sector, with 228 member organisations from 120 countries. The organisation is led by the organisation's president Björn Ulvaeus, known from ABBA. In Norway, the organisations TONO and BONO are members.
– The CISAC report clearly shows how hard Covid-19 has hit artists' copyright revenues worldwide. After many years of steady growth, royalties collected in 2020 fell by 9,9 percent, more than 1 billion euros. Worldwide, the concert sector in particular has been severely affected, but the background music sector, broadcasting and several other areas also experienced Covid-19-related declines. The growth in digital revenues was far from compensating for the losses, says Willy Martinsen, Head of Communications at TONO.
The music sector accounts for 88 percent of CISAC members' total revenues. The report shows that copyright in this sector fell by 10,7 percent, or almost €1 billion, to €8,12 billion.
Revenue from concerts and the background music sector (cafes, restaurants, etc.) was hit hardest, almost halving from 2019, ending at €1,5 billion. Based on figures from around a third of CISAC members, the live music sector fell by around 55 percent.
At the same time, digital music revenues increased by 16,2 percent to 2,4 billion euros. For the first time in the history of the report, digital revenues surpassed the concert and background areas and in 2020 were the second largest revenue area for composers and lyricists.
– Around the world, local music and its creators have suffered more than the international, most typically Anglo-American, repertoire. This is because the various national concert markets are so important to local creators and losses in the concert sector therefore hit them hardest. At the same time, the growth of the digital economy in 2020 has strengthened international music flows, given that a lot of international and Anglo-American repertoire is used in film and music streaming services. This is a big cross of thought, and something we also see here in Norway, says Martinsen.
Read the report here: https://www.cisac.org/Newsroom/news-releases/cisac-global-collections-report-shows-creators-royalties-down-eu-1-billion
For composers and lyricists, copyright revenues from traditional TV and radio broadcasting and cable decreased by 4,4 percent during the pandemic in 2020. The area is by far the largest, with TV and radio alone generating 3,2 billion euros in copyright revenues worldwide.
The largest income areas for composers and songwriters in 2020 (CISAC Collection Report, p 23)
| Market area | Revenue (million euros) | Change from 2019 |
| Television and radio | 3,252 | -4,4 |
| Digital | 2,399 | + 16,2 % |
| Concert and background | 1,489 | -45,2% |
| CDs and videos | 621 | -4,8% |
| Private copying | 338 | + 46,2 % |
| Synchronizing | 26 | -13% |
These are the world's 10 largest markets for music copyrights:
| Country | Revenue (million euros) | Change from 2019 |
| USA | 2,209 | + 0,7 |
| France | 902 | -12,8% |
| Japan | 842 | -4,8% |
| Germany | 736 | -9,8% |
| Storbritannia | 611 | -18,8% |
| Italy | 309 | -35,1% |
| Australia | 242 | -5,2% |
| Canada | 235 | -8,3% |
| The Netherlands | 184 | -7,8% |
| South Korea | 173 | + 9,4 % |
About TONO:
TONO is owned and managed by authors (composers and lyricists) and music publishers, and manages the economic copyrights in the music they have created. TONO grants permission for the use of protected music, for example on radio, TV, the internet, concerts and cinemas for a fee, and transfers its financial results each year to the rights holders of music that has been played publicly. TONO has approximately 37,000 members, but also works for millions of authors and music publishers from around the world. TONO's social role is twofold, on the one hand collecting and simplifying the licensing of protected music and on the other hand providing music creators with an economic basis for creating new musical works. TONO's turnover in 2020 was kr 712,4 millions.
For more information:
Willy Martinsen, Communications Manager at TONO, 909 65 254, willy.martinsen@tono.no