Music copyright revenue grew from $36.2B to $45.5B between 2021–2023.
Photo credit: Bruno Cervera on Unsplash
Music copyright revenues now exceed global box office earnings. According to Will Page, former chief economist at Spotify and PRS for Music, the sector has experienced substantial growth recently.
A new study shows that music copyright value – which includes revenues from recorded music, publishing, and collective management organizations (CMOs) – reached $45.5 billion in 2023. This marks an 11% increase from $41 billion in 2022, surpassing the global cinema market’s box office revenues of $33.2 billion.
In the breakdown, recorded music revenues led with $28.5 billion, followed by CMO collections at $12.9 billion and publisher direct income at $4.2 billion. Of the total revenues, 63% went to artists and labels, while the remainder was distributed to songwriters, publishers, and their CMOs.
“In the music industry, copyright value represents our most significant metric,” Page states in his annual market analysis. The strong growth—from $36.2 billion in 2021 to $45.5 billion in 2023—highlights the rising value of musical intellectual property in the digital age.
Read the full report for more details here.
