Global creator revenue increases 7.6 percent to €13.1 billion in 2023

Global creator rights collection has grown in 2023 7.6 percent to reach 13.1 billion euros according to data provided by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC).

In this sense, CISAC – of which the SGAE is a part – has indicated that this increase is due to growth “constant” of digital revenues and the strong recovery of live shows and public performance.

After a decade of double-digit annual percentage growth, digital collections have increased 9.6 percent, reaching the 4.6 billion euroswith the streaming subscription market starting to mature in larger territories.

Having surpassed television and radio to become the largest source of income for creators in 2022, the digital sector advanced even further in 2023, representing 35 percent of total collections. This compares with 30 percent for radio broadcasting and 25 percent for live and public performance.

Despite the growth in revenue from digital platforms, the vast majority of creators say that they cannot maintain a career or livelihood with streaming income..

In this regard, CISAC warns that, except for the “small circle of most successful artists”, the rest of the creators “They cannot count on other sources of income, such as those from live shows, to develop their career“.

The revenue stream from public and live entertainment, which includes concerts, exhibitions and venue and business licensing, continues its “robust” recovery in all regions. Collections in this category grew by 22 percent to reach an all-time high of 3.3 billion euros.

Regarding collections from radio or television stations, the data has fallen by -4.0 percent in 2023 and was just +0.7 percent above its 2019 level, reflecting the fall of the number of viewers and income from television advertising.

The general director of CISAC, Gadi Oron, considers that the figures paint a positive picture of a “healthy, stable and promising” sector. “Collections on behalf of creators reached a new all-time high. This, in itself, is a great achievement and demonstrates the robustness of the collective management system.“, he celebrated.

Furthermore, the president of CISAC, Björn Ulvaeus, in his foreword to the report, has referred to the impact of AI and warns that it is “shaking” the creator sector, who are facing a “huge” change.

“Generative AI tools produce works that are based on those of human creators and there is a risk that they will replace them. I am a user and a big fan of AI tools. “I have always believed that the only thing we can do is embrace new technologies, not try to stop them, but with a fundamental reservation: this should never be done at the cost of compromising copyright and human rights,” he added.