The International Confederation of Societies of Authors (CISAC) has announced that creators’ royalties have hit a new record high of $14.2 billion (all figures Canadian dollars) worldwide in 2018. Music creators – songwriters, lyricists, composers and music publishers – saw their global royalty collections grow by 1.8 per cent to $12.4 billion, helped by a 29.6 percent increase in digital revenues.

According to the organization’s annual Global Collections Report, revenues from digital sources – largely driven by streaming subscription services – have nearly tripled since 2014, and now account for 17 percent of all collections, as compared to 7.5 percent in 2014.

The increase in major markets’ digital collections – notably the U.S., France, and Japan – are the biggest drivers of global growth. This growth is helped by new and extended licensing deals between societies and digital platforms, from dedicated content services like Spotify, to social media platforms such as Facebook, to video-on-demand platforms like Netflix and Amazon.

Over the five years since 2014, global collections by CISAC societies are up 25.4%. Digital growth, combined with resilience in the two other major uses (TV/radio and live/background), are continuing to offset declining income from physical media.

CISAC Director General Gadi Oron said, “This report provides many reasons for optimism about our sector. Digital revenues show an impressive increase, have nearly tripled in the last five years, and have enormous potential for further growth. 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.”

For more highlights from CISAC’s 2019 Global Collections Report (for 2018 data), visit www.CISAC.org.