A powerful 2023 saw music publishing revenues shoot up to more than $10 billion, outperforming label revenues.

Another fantastic year of music publishing growth represents great things for artists. The results for 2023 saw a fantastic rise in revenues suggest more successes in the years to come for songwriters and musicians. For clarification on what music publishing revenues are, check out our guide here.

MIDiA Research have launched their 2024-2031 global music publishing forecast. In the report they celebrate significant growth of 12% for music publishing revenues in 2023, surpassing record label trade revenue growth of 9.1%. Global music publishing revenues grew to $10.1 billion.

MIDiA put the impressive growth down to a combination of bolstered live revenues after COVID, as well as enhanced royalty rates on streaming. Greater positioning combined with the already significant growth of music streaming for yet another year helped music publishing revenues climb.

MIDiA write in their report: “As the streaming market matures, publishers have gained a larger share of the streaming economy through effective lobbying and licensing strategies. They have also secured better royalty terms in deals with emerging platforms like TikTok and Meta, reflecting their newfound confidence and leading role in innovation.”

In 2022, music publishing revenues from the streaming industry grew past the 50% mark to make music publishing a streaming-first business. MIDiA predicts that sustained growth will see global music publishing revenues close to double between 2023 and 2031.

Mark Mulligan of MIDiA writes: “Throughout the earlier stages of the streaming era, publishing was something of a back seat passenger, with the agenda set by labels and DSPs. But, as the market matured, publishing rights found their voice.

“Favourable rates board rulings in the US, active lobbying efforts, and increasingly effective licensing strategy from CMOs and publishers have had the combined effect of increasing publishing’s share of the streaming economy – with further improvement likely.”


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