IFPI has issued its much-anticipated Global Music Report for 2022.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry represents the recorded music industry worldwide - more than 8,000 record companies across the globe.
While there remains strong growth in the market, even across physical sales, the latest IFPI report chimes with recent Music Week coverage about the increasing maturity of key streaming markets. In our Music Week Interview with Atlantic co-presidents Briony Turner and Ed Howard, the pair spoke about the future of the industry at a “pivotal moment”.
The IFPI Global Music Report was unveiled during a presentation in London today (March 21).
The figures show that the global recorded music market grew by 9.0% year-on-year in 2022, driven by growth in paid subscription streaming. The report reveals that total trade revenues for 2022 were $26.2 billion.
While that growth was at half of the level of 2021, it was actually slightly higher than 2020. Of course, the impact of Covid, which has negatively affected public performance income particularly, has been a factor in recent results. But the global performance in 2022 was on a par with pre-Covid results in 2019 (8.2%) and 2018 (9.7%).
The good news for the UK industry is that the market remains at No.3 overall, after registering stronger growth than nearest rival Germany. The US and Japan remain the top two performers globally, while China is now a top five market for the first time.
During 2022, subscription audio streaming revenues increased by 10.3% year-on-year to $12.7 billion and there were 589 million users of paid subscription accounts at the end of 2022. Based on the IFPI subscriber numbers and revenue figures for the past two years, average revenue per user (ARPU) is down around 8% year-on-year - although part of that is explained by faster growth in emerging markets with lower prices.
Total streaming (including both paid subscription and advertising-supported) grew by 11.5% to reach $17.5 billion (67.0% of total global recorded music revenues).
There was growth in other areas too with physical revenues remaining resilient (up 4.0%), thanks in part to blockbuster vinyl sales for Taylor Swift (IFPI Global Artist Of The Year) and Harry Styles, and a particularly strong physical music performance in Asia.
Performance rights revenue increased by 8.6% year-on-year to return to pre-pandemic levels. Synchronisation income was up by 22.3%.
The report comes at a time when new challenges are coming to the fore, including the industry’s relationship with TikTok, the rise of streaming manipulation and ongoing piracy problems such as stream-ripping. In the long term, AI poses both a threat and opportunity - as addressed by Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl last month.
As the opportunities expand, so too do the areas in which record companies must work to ensure that the value of music is recognised and returned
Frances Moore
IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore said: “This year’s report tells the continued story of record companies’ commitment to their core mission – working with artists to help them achieve their greatest creative and commercial potential over the course of a career. That requires an artist-label partnership that constantly evolves and innovates so that it can capitalise on opportunities in more business areas and more parts of the world.
“Record companies’ investment and innovation has helped make music even more globally interconnected than ever, building out local teams around the world, and working with artists from a growing variety of music scenes. This is driving music’s development whilst enabling fans to seize the expanding opportunities to embrace and celebrate their own local artists and culture.
“However, as the opportunities for music continue to expand, so too do the areas in which record companies must work to ensure that the value of the music artists are creating is recognised and returned. This challenge is becoming increasingly complex as a greater number of actors seek to benefit from music whilst playing no part in investing in and developing it.”
Growth in the world’s regions
Recorded music revenues grew in every region around the world in 2022, although the picture was mixed based on the maturity of each streaming market, according to IFPI’s report.
• Asia grew by 15.4% with its largest market, Japan, seeing growth of 5.4% whilst the second largest market, China, grew by more than 20% (28.4%), becoming a global Top 5 market for the first time. In a continuing trend, Asia also accounted for almost half of global physical revenues (49.8%).
• Australasia experienced growth of 8.1%, an increase on the prior year’s growth rate of +4.7%. Australia (up 8.1%) remained a top 10 market globally and New Zealand saw a rise in streaming revenues push the overall market to growth of 8.0%.
• Revenues in Europe, the second-largest recorded music region in the world, grew by 7.5%, with the region’s three biggest markets all posting gains: UK (up 5.4%), Germany (up 2.2%) and France (up 7.7%).
• Latin America saw gains of 25.9%, maintaining more than 10 years of regional increases. Every market in the region posted double-digit growth.
• Middle East and North Africa – previously the fastest growing market in 2021, MENA had the third highest growth rate in 2022, seeing increase of 23.8%, and representing the highest share for streaming of any region globally (95.5%).
• Sub-Saharan Africa – becoming the fastest growing region in 2022 with more than 30% growth (34.7%), SSA was driven largely by a significant boost to revenues in the region’s largest market, South Africa (up 31.4%).
• The USA & Canada region – the world’s largest in revenue terms - grew by 5.0% in 2022. The world’s single biggest market, the USA, grew by 4.8% a – exceeding $10 billion for the first time - and Canadian recorded music revenues increased by 8.1%.
Local currency values are stated at independently sourced 2022 exchange rates. IFPI restates all historic local currency values on an annual basis.
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