The revival of live music venues and the recovery of the economy following the Covid-19 outbreak have proven to be important advantages for companies that collect music royalties.
The financial report for Sacem for 2022, which depicts a record-breaking year for one of the biggest collective management organizations (CMOs) in the world, makes this abundantly evident. Paris serves as the home base for Sacem.
According to the oldest royalty-collecting agency in the world, royalties totaled EUR €1.413 billion (USD $1.489 billion) in 2022, up 34% over the previous year.
Sacem distributed €1.056 billion (1.112 billion) to publishers, composers, and authors globally in the course of the year, a 19% increase over the previous year.
The PRO reports that 390,000 rights holders worldwide received paid from its collections in 2022.
Sacem received EUR €1.413 billion in 2022, which was split among the following revenue sources:
Sacem was now ranked among the top royalty collectors in the world, with annual income on par with those of BMI and ASCAP in the US, GEMA in Germany, and PRS in the UK. Online sales of €492.6 million increased by 38%. €353.1 million (up 19%) for TV/Radio providers General royalties totaled €327.0 million (+93%).
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) recorded earnings of more than $1.522 billion in 2022, an increase of 14% from the previous year.
Its principal American rival, BMI, recorded revenues of $1.573 billion for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022, a rise of 16% year over year.
In the meantime, at constant exchange rates, the UK PRS raised £964 million ($1.19 billion) in 2022, up 22.9% from the previous year.
In addition, every royalty collector in the graph above saw a successful year in 2022, which Sacem and others credit to the resumption of commercial operations and cultural activities following widespread Covid-19 lockdowns. In 2022, the German GEMA collected €1.178 billion ($1.241 billion), a 13% YoY increase.
The epidemic cost Sacem an estimated €350 million in foregone royalties, according to the company.
Sacem credited a portion of its success from the previous year to its constantly increasing network of contracts with music distributors and rightsholders.
One method Sacem increased such agreements in 2022 was through a new cooperation with Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the music rights investment business led by seasoned artist manager Merck Mercuriadis.
Hipgnosis' libraries will produce digital royalties in a number of regions, principally the UK and the EU, which Sacem will manage and administer.
The cooperative has introduced Musicstart, a blockchain-based solution that helps artists secure their rights. Artists can rapidly create a certificate demonstrating ownership of a musical work with Musicstart. In a dispute, this certificate might be used to prove who came up with the idea first.
Sacem also worked with the French music NFT marketplace Pianity in a contract that established a payment scheme for music composers and publishers on sales of music titles in NFT form.
The PRO said that it would invest €29.2 million (or $30.77 million) in 2022 to assist 3,375 musical initiatives through its cultural action and aid programs. These funds were raised by private copying levies, or extra fees placed on blank media and remitted to the owners of the rights to offset copying losses.
Thanks to the resumption of concerts, the expansion of digital, the new contracts it signed with the numerous users of its repertoire, and the strategic change it made to its transformation strategy, Scem experienced a record year in terms of both collections and royalties disbursed. Sacem CEO Cecile Rap-Veber issued a statement in which she claimed, "These results demonstrate, once again, our ability to adapt and strengthen our expertise in a highly competitive and rapidly changing sector."
These outcomes "demonstrate, once more, our ability to enhance and adapt in a highly competitive and changing industry,"
Numerous barriers still stand in the way of the future of creation, according to SACEM Rap-Veber and CECILE RAP-VEBER. These barriers include funding for public broadcasting and the National Music Centre, defending private copying levies, developing a more equitable music streaming ecosystem for creators and publishers, preventing "buy-outs," and regulating artificial intelligence, to name just a few.
"Sasem will be at the forefront, defending the rights and revenues of its members and partners as we face these challenges."
According to Serge Perathoner, chair of Sacem's board of directors, "The opportunities offered by new technologies and the rapid and constant evolution of the music ecosystem have significantly changed the way we create, distribute, and consume music." They have opened up fresh territory and made room for a new phase in Sacem's growth.
Never before have the costs of Sacem been so tightly managed. Thanks to the power of our tools and our proficiency in author rights management, we have been able to optimize the value of works by giving more money to creators and publishers.
The IRS's published yearly average exchange rates were used for all EUR-USD currency conversions in this report for the 2022 calendar year.