Exploration Weekly - Global Recorded Music Revenues Grew by 9% / CMM Issues Latest Calls for Streaming Reform / Support for Human Artistry Campaign Grows

Non-interactive music streaming differs from on-demand, or interactive, streaming because it allows users to play music but does not allow them to select the song that plays next. Non-interactive streams generate a performance royalty for both the sound recording and composition of the song. The performance royalty associated with the sound recording of the song is paid to SoundExchange, while the performance royalty associated with the song’s composition is paid to the PROs.

In this newsletter:

• Global recorded music revenues grew 9% in 2022 to $26.2bn says IFPI
• Council of Music Makers and ECSA issue latest calls for streaming reform
• Support for Human Artistry Campaign Grows to Over 40+ Organizations
• Italian Music Industry Growth Reportedly Outpaced the Global Average During 2022, When Revenue Approached $400 Million
• Rockstar song theft lawsuit filed against Nickelback dismissed

According to the IFPI, the global music industry made $26.2bn from recorded music in 2022.

The Council Of Music Makers urges record labels, music publishers and streaming services to work with artists, songwriters and their managers to address each of the five key priorities they are calling for.

An ever-expanding list of 40+ creative organizations, including music, sports, and acting coalitions, have joined the Human Artistry Campaign to promote a list of principles for advancing artificial intelligence within the creative space.

Now, the details...

Exploration Weekly - March 24, 2023
Compiled by Ana Berberana

Global recorded music revenues grew 9% in 2022 to $26.2bn says IFPI

The global music industry made $26.2bn from recorded music in 2022, according to the IFPI. That’s up 9% year-on-year. The figures are from the industry body’s annual Global Music Report, which was published on March 21st. It also reveals an 11.5% growth in music streaming revenues to $17.5bn, with streaming now accounting for more than two-thirds (67%) of the global recorded music market. That’s up slightly from 65% in 2021. Meanwhile, revenues from audio-streaming subscriptions grew by 10.3% to $12.7bn in 2022. 589 million people were using paid subscriptions at the end of the year, up from 523 million at the end of 2021. Physical music sales grew by 4% to $4.6bn in 2022, accounting for 17.5% of the overall market.

Council of Music Makers and ECSA issue latest calls for streaming reform

Two industry organizations have issued their latest calls for change in the way the music streaming economy works. The UK’s Council of Music Makers – the umbrella body for the Ivors Academy, FAC, MMF, MPG and Musicians’ Union – has published ‘five foundational changes’ that it would like to see. They include a “modern, minimum digital royalty rate” for all featured artists, with unrecouped balances “written off after a term, on a rolling basis, without any additional conditions”. The CMM has also called for session musicians to “see the benefit of the streaming boom” with new recordings and catalog tracks alike. The Council also wants all musicians to have the opportunity to revise “outdated old contract terms”, and more transparency for songwriters and artists around streaming royalties including “proactively communicating how monies are allocated to each music-maker’s songs and recordings, and then shared with and paid through to them”. Finally, there is a call to ensure that “all required music rights data is in the system before release” – a longstanding bugbear for songwriters and publishers – with proper credits and moves to ensure that “digital royalties must reach songwriters as quickly and accurately as they do for artists”.

Support for Human Artistry Campaign Grows to Over 40+ Organizations

First announced at SXSW in Austin at an event discussing the potential of AI and immersive technology, the Human Artistry Campaign outlined principles advocating best practices for artificial intelligence within the creative space. These principles emphasize transparency and adherence to copyright law and intellectual property. The core principles that the coalition outlines include that using copyrighted works for training AI requires authorization, licensing, and compliance with all state and federal laws. “AI developers must ensure any content used for training purposes is approved and licensed from the copyright owner, including content previously used by any pre-trained AIs they may adopt,” the principles read. “AI must not receive exemptions from copyright law or other intellectual property laws and must comply with core principles of fair market competition and compensation. Creating special shortcuts or legal loopholes for AI would harm creative livelihoods, damage creators’ brands, and limit incentives to create and invest in new works.” “Incredible music originates from individuals,” says NMPA President and CEO David Israelite. “As we face growing AI capabilities, we as an industry are united around the fact that human artistry must be protected by strong copyright law and policy and that AI tools are developed in ways that do not undermine the value of songwriters’ work.”

Italian Music Industry Growth Reportedly Outpaced the Global Average During 2022, When Revenue Approached $400 Million

The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) unveiled the performance specifics associated with the Italian music industry today, via a concise release that was emailed to DMN. Moreover, the IFPI this morning shed light upon the global industry’s 2022 showing, disclosing in the corresponding report that Brazil had replaced Italy as one of the top-10 music markets. Nevertheless, the aforesaid 11.1% Italian music industry growth outpaced the international average, which the IFPI placed at about 9.2%. The 11.1% boost bumped Italy’s recorded music revenue past the €370 million mark ($398.47 million at the present exchange rate), the Milan-headquartered entity indicated, as streaming income improved by 17.7% from 2021 (compared to 11.5% global growth) to approximately €246.79 million ($265.80 million). Behind the streaming revenue figure, FIMI identified a 13.7% uptick in subscription income and a 36.2% hike on the ad-supported side, “including revenues from social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.” Of course, an ongoing licensing dispute between Meta and the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers – which saw Meta pull down a number of works earlier in March – didn’t impact the 2022 data but is certainly affecting 2023’s totals. Notwithstanding this streaming surge and an 11.7% increase in vinyl revenue, FIMI relayed that the Italian music industry had suffered a 2.2% income dip on the physical side. Even so, the entity communicated that Italy boasted the world’s eighth-largest physical market in 2022.

Rockstar song theft lawsuit filed against Nickelback dismissed

A US judge last week dismissed a song theft lawsuit filed against Nickelback, following the earlier recommendation of a magistrate judge who said that the plaintiff in the case had failed to sufficiently back up his theory for how the band had accessed the earlier song. Kirk Johnston, vocalist with the band Snowblind Revival, went legal in 2020, claiming that Nickelback’s 2005 track ‘Rockstar’ ripped off a song he had written with the same title four years earlier. The band then called for the lawsuit to be dismissed on the basis they’d never heard of the earlier song or Snowblind Revival before Johnston went legal. However, magistrate judge Susan Hightower initially said she wasn’t convinced there were grounds for dismissal, though that was assuming Johnston could produce evidence that supported his claim that Nickelback might have had access to his song via their label. But that evidence was not forthcoming. And as a result Hightower last month recommended the case be dismissed, stating that “Johnston has presented no probative evidence that defendants had a reasonable opportunity to hear plaintiff’s work”. District Judge Robert Pitman last week confirmed he was following Hightower’s recommendation. Johnston had filed written objections to the magistrate judge’s conclusion, he confirmed, but having reviewed that submission “the court overrules plaintiff’s objections and adopts the report and recommendation as its own order”.

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