PRS royalty revenues rise to £623m
The organisation which represents 65,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers has announced a 2.6% rise in revenues after digital music growth offset the decline in traditional CD and DVD formats for the first time.
PRS for Music, a not-for-profit body which ensures creators are paid whenever their music is played, performed or reproduced, reported royalty revenues of £623 million in 2009, up from £608.3 million a year earlier.
It said tougher trading conditions in the UK music market were offset by strong growth internationally and by the licensing of new digital services.
Online revenues grew £12.8 million or 72.7% to £30.4 million, outperforming the decline in traditional CDs and DVDs – off £8.7 million – for the first time.
PRS for Music chief executive Robert Ashcroft said it was still too early to say whether this represented a turning point for the industry.
He added: “The next decade does however promise further growth in earnings from the legal digital market as well as the use of British music overseas.”
The growth in online revenues reflects a series of licence agreements, including MySpace Music, YouTube and iTunes. At the same time, revenues from mobile phone ringtones more than halved to £2.5 million last year.
The significant increase in revenues from British music use abroad – up 19.4% to £166.9 million – reflected exchange rate gains and increased licensing activity in new and existing territories.
Public performance revenues, including clubs, music venues and commercial premises, increased by 2.4%. Despite an estimated 39 pubs closing each week, PRS said it had seen only a small reduction in revenues from pubs as most saw music as an integral part of their business.
PRS members receive nearly 90% of the revenues collected by the organisation. It collects set lists from more than 7,000 music venues each year to ensure members are accurately paid for their performances, as well as ensuring royalties for music played on all UK TV and radio stations.
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Music Copyright and the Internet
Big Subject, contributions welcome. The way I see it, the music industry as we know it is in its final lap. There will very little money to be made in the recording industry in the coming decade. Live Music will be the only form of music that will bring financial returns. The Radio industry will keep it going for sometime but that will not be able to sustain the industry in its present form. The large publishers and record companies will not be able to sustain themselves in the present form. Most hit songs and number ones will be independent and will most likey come out from bedrooms of musicians by 2020.
