PRS for Music sets new benchmark: Songwriters and composers receive unprecedented royalty payouts of £943.6 million - a 13% increase on last year 28 May 2024
- Royalties from music used online (music streaming, video-on-demand and video games) saw the highest year-on-year percentage growth (23.2% or £67.9 million) and highest distribution at £360.3 million.
- Escapism by RAYE ft. 070 Shake, Calm Down by Rema, and Boy's a Liar by PinkPantheress, were just some of the most streamed tracks of the year featuring PRS writers.
- New seasons of acclaimed dramas The Bear, The Crown, Succession and Top Boy were released last year, all of which featured music by PRS composers and songwriters.
- OSCAR-winning Barbie was one of the most streamed pay-to-watch movies at home in the UK, featuring chart-topping Dance the Night by Dua Lipa, while Saltburn caused chart disruption with its now (in)famous sync of Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Murder on the Dancefloor.
- Music by PRS writers played and performed overseas generated an additional £69.9 million last year, and distributions from the use of members' works used overseas grew by 19.35% (£45.8 million) to £283.4 million last year.
- Europe remained the most important market for members' music, with collections exceeding £181 million, up £34 million (23%). Total royalties from North America, increased by 25% (£21.1 million) to over £105 million in 2023, predominately driven by increased online and radio income.
- World tours from PRS members last year, including Harry Styles, Sam Smith and Shania Twain, contributed to an overall 93% increase in international live income.
- International royalties collected through the Major Live Concert Service (MLCS) increased from £6.2 million to over £19 million, an uplift of 210% in 2023.
- Royalties paid out from public performance, including live music, were £3.7 million higher in 2023 (2.0%), reflecting continued buoyancy of stadium and arena live events.
- Arctic Monkeys, Burna Boy, and Busted, were among those who led the charge for live music tours in the UK last year. Noteworthy one-off special UK events such as Eurovision being hosted in Liverpool and Download Festival extending its lineup for its 20th anniversary, contributed to this result.
- Revenues from the retail sector was £1.8m higher than in 2022, benefitting from increased use of PRS' repertoire in shops and bars.
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THE HEADLINES
Can TikTok revive classic songs? A statistical analysis (see Analysis)
UMG’s Michael Nash: ‘AI can be instrumental to the future of music’ (see Digital)
In the post-music streaming era, do artists and labels give too much away? (see Comment)
Songwriters ‘missing millions in royalties from more than 100,000 UK gigs’ (see News)
Merck Mercuriadis plots comeback with Hipgnosis remix (see Business)
V&A East Storehouse to open the David Bowie Centre (see News)
ESCA calls on the EU to block Universal Music’s deal to buy Downtown (see News)
Virgin Music CEOs push back against critics of Downtown Music deal (see News)
Record labels are running on empty (see Opinion)
AI music is going viral, but it’s not what fans want (see Comment)
The Velvet Sundown may be the first breakout AI band from Suno (see Digital)
Amid cuts, WMG to "continue to supercharge our capabilities in long-term artist, songwriter, and catalog development" (see Business)
WIN CEO writes to European Commission Vice-President over Universal's acquisition of Downtown (see Comment)
If Spotify truly champions discovery, it should champion fair compensation from the first stream (see Comment)
Selected Glastonbury coverage (see News, Features, Showbiz, Reviews)
Streaming is both retail and radio – it shouldn’t be (see Comment)
Impala’s Helen Smith on UMG's planned Downtown acquisition (see Comment)