CISAC 2018 collections surpassed 9 billion euros

CISAC, the organization representing authors’ and composers’ societies, announced that it collected a record-high €9.65 billion in global royalties during 2018. Digital sources were responsible for €1.64 billion of that total, up 29% year-over-year. CISAC credited the rapid uptake of music and video subscriptions as driving that digital growth.

Asia-Pacific was the biggest market for digital collections, with those sources accounting for 26.3% of the region’s total. Digital had a share of 13.3% in Europe. Online revenue was the largest source for collecions in multiple key regions, including Australasia, China, Mexico, South Korea, and Sweden.

“Digital revenues show an impressive increase, have nearly tripled in the last five years and have enormous potential for further growth,” CISAC Director General Gadi Oron said. “More markets are seeing digital income taking the top position of all revenue streams, which is an extremely positive sign. In a landscape of fragmenting income sources, the role of authors societies in generating monetary value for millions of creators has never been more vital.”

Anna Washenko