CISAC has issued its Global Collections Report 2025, which tracks international creator royalties across the global creative industries.
The report covers 2024 royalty collections in music, audiovisual, drama, literature and visual arts repertoires via data from CISAC’s network of 228 societies in 111 countries.
Global revenues for music creators increased by 7.2% to reach €12.59 billion.
But CISAC’s report noted concerns about the potential impact of AI on songwriters and composers.
“This year’s results are testament to the adaptability and resilience of creators’ collective rights management in a rapidly changing environment,” said CISAC director general Gadi Oron. “Yet, alongside this success, new challenges brought by artificial intelligence technologies threaten the future of the creative sector. AI is not simply another means of distributing creative works; it is a technology that appropriates and replicates them. Without proper safeguards or data transparency it risks undermining the very foundation of creative value.”
“I approach this technological revolution as someone who has used AI tools myself,” said ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, CISAC president. “I recognise their potential. For me, AI tools can be like a sounding board, offering references and unexpected directions that expand and complement the human creative process. But I also recognise that when AI companies build vast models using unlicensed works of millions of creators, the effect is very different. What began as a simple tool becomes an instrument of systematic exploitation. Unchecked and uncontrolled, AI raises deep questions about authorship and value.”
The advent of artificial intelligence signals a profound shift for our sector – proof that progress and disruption can exist side by side
Björn Ulvaeus
The increase for music creator royalties was primarily driven by strong performance in digital collections and by similar double-digit growth in live & background collections. Together, these two revenue streams now make up two-thirds of the total music market.
The UK was No.3 globally for collections (€1.18bn, up 8.2%) behind the US and France.
Following a 5.3% drop in 2023, the broadcast sector returned to growth and rose by 1.2%.
However, physical sales went in the opposite direction, falling by 7% after making gains in the previous year.
Collections from private copying, the small levy placed upon the sale of recordable media and electronic products in some territories, are often cyclical as back payments are a regular occurrence. In 2024, this sector fell by 4.3% following a 11.9% rise the previous year.
Income from sync licensing through collective management organisations grew for the fourth year in succession, increasing by 18.4% to reach a record €61.3m in revenue.
DIGITAL MUSIC INCOME
For the first time, collections from the digital use of music reached €5bn as growth increased to 10.8% in 2024. It marks a reacceleration of growth for digital after the increase slipped below 10% in the prior year.
The digital income total represents a sevenfold rise over the past decade. Digital is easily music’s largest sector at 39.8% of total income.
Digital music collections saw growth in all the top 10 countries; combined, their revenue accounted for 83% of the global digital total. More than a quarter of this total was generated in the USA, where collections grew by 16.1% year-on-year to reach €1.4bn.
In the UK, PRS For Music reported 179% growth in video game revenue. Britain made CISAC’s digital music champions rankings with just short of 50% (49.8%) of collections coming from digital.
Due to improved contracts and new distributor licences, Italy’s revenues grew the fastest amongst the top 10 countries, rising 27.2%.
Meanwhile, Slovenia’s digital income more than doubled following the 2023 decision by the Slovenian IPO to allow local society SAZAS to manage digital rights.
Streaming market expansion in France and South Korea resulted in double-digit increases, while in Mexico, new deals with platforms such as Crunchyroll, led to a rise of 8.4%.
LIVE SURGE STABILISES
The global live music industry marked another record-setting year in 2024, though CISAC noted that the momentum began to level off following the rapid surge in revenue seen during the initial post-pandemic years.
Pollstar described 2024 as “strong and steady”, highlighting a shift from the explosive growth that began in late 2021 to a more stable period of moderate growth.
This trend was reflected in the financial results of Live Nation, whose revenue growth slowed to just under 2% in 2024, following a 36% increase the previous year.
Despite this deceleration, the CISAC report found that the long-term trend remains striking. Since 2019, the combined revenues from the world’s top 100 tours have grown by 71%, including record-breaking runs in 2024: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour became the highest grossing of all time, while Coldplay set a record for most tickets sold.
However, this success at the top contrasts sharply with ongoing challenges at the grassroots level, where venue closures in several countries continue to limit opportunities for emerging artists.
GROWTH MARKETS
Music revenues in Germany reached €1bn following a 13.7% boom in the live & background sector. German music society GEMA cited an increase in major events, overall market growth and increased ticket prices as contributing factors.
A new AI music monitoring device called KIM was successfully tested at festivals, improving processing efficiency.
Broadcast also grew in Germany, with income from TV & radio increasing by 1.8% from a 5% drop the year before.
In contrast to many other countries, however, digital growth slowed in Germany, rising just 1.2%, reflecting a slowdown in streaming market growth and the impact of accounting adjustments from previous periods.
For the first time, Central and Eastern Europe was the fastest growing region for music repertoire collections, rising by 17.9% to reach €470m. Digital income grew by 20.2% due to improved licensing conditions and cooperation with pan-European licensing bodies.
However, digital still makes up a relatively modest 13.9% of the regional total. The broadcast sector dominated, rising by 16.3% due to a strong performance in Poland, Turkey and a more than doubling of revenue in Slovenia due to a successful court litigation covering a past period. Broadcast totals made up 43.1% of the regional music total.
Live & background also performed well, growing by more than 20% in Poland and Croatia as local societies continued to improve efficiency and maximise collections from the growing live concert market.
GENERATIVE AI SIGNALS ‘PROFOUND SHIFT’
Unlicensed generative AI (GenAI) could divert up to 25% of creators’ royalties, equivalent to €8.5 billion annually, if left unregulated, according to CISAC.
The organisation is calling for transparency, licensing obligations for AI platforms and remuneration of creators for AI use, as GenAI expands from an estimated €3 billion market to an estimated €64 billion by 2028. UMG recently unveiled a licensing deal with Udio.
“In 2024, authors’ societies delivered record royalties to creators worldwide,” said Ulvaeus. “This achievement is a cause for celebration, reflecting the resilience of collective management and the value of creative works in a growing market. At the same time, the advent of artificial intelligence signals a profound shift for our sector – proof that progress and disruption can exist side by side, and that the future of creativity will be shaped by how we reconcile both realities.”
In December 2024, CISAC published the first global Study on the Economic Impact of Generative AI in the Music and Audiovisual Sectors.
By 2028, GenAI-generated outputs are expected to reach €40bn, hitting creator revenues by 24%. That means a €4bn loss in 2028 alone, with GenAI projected to represent a fifth of streaming income and 60% of music library revenues.
In Sweden, CISAC member society STIM recently issued an AI licence that will provide encouragement that creators’ rights and generative AI can coexist. Meanwhile, ASCAP, BMI and SOCAN have aligned on registration of compositions using AI tools.
“As President of CISAC, I will continue to speak out so that the creator’s voice is heard. The future of culture depends on keeping human imagination, not machines, at the heart of creation,” said Ulvaeus.
STREAMING FRAUD ON THE RISE
While much of the focus has been on AI, streaming fraud remains a concern.
“Bad actors exploit weaknesses in registration systems to claim royalties for works they did not create, or to invent fake titles that divert income away from legitimate songwriters and composers,” stated CISAC’s report. “Left unchecked, this activity harms creators financially and undermines trust in the global royalty distribution system.”
Folk artist Emily Portman was recently victim to AI-generated music, credited to a mystery producer, added under her profile. Spotify is rolling out protections for artists.
With the rise of AI-generated content and the vast volume of registrations flowing into societies, the risk from fraudulent claims has increased.
CISAC has worked on an initiative that provides member societies with clear guidelines for verifying repertoire registrations, validating both interested parties and works, sharing intelligence across societies, and taking specific steps when anomalies are identified.
FOLLOW 
