US music publishing industry revenue up 9.6% to $4 billion in 2020

By Emmanuel Legrand

The music publishing market in the US posted revenues of $4.076billion in 2020, a 9.6% increase over 2019. The figure was disclosed by David Israelite, President & CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), during his traditional State of the Union at the organisations' AGM on June 9. 

  Performance rights reached $2.1bn, up 7.92%, while revenue from synchronisation grew to $954m, up 13% from 2019, despite the disruption in film and TV production due to the pandemic, and mechanical rights experienced the biggest growth rate of all revenue streams, with an increase of 19.5% in revenue to $823.5m. The only category suffering a negative growth was Other streams, down 17.1% to $200m. 

  Performance rights represented the most important stream of revenues, with 51.5% of the total, "slightly smaller than it was last year," said Israelite. "It's not because performance is shrinking – it's growing! But it's not growing as fast as some of the other categories." Other streams included Sync (23.4%), Mechanical (20.2%), and Other (4.9%).

  Israelite said that "despite the fact that there are some mechanical categories that are shrinking rapidly," the overall growth in mechanicals was due to "the growth of the mechanicals part in interactive streaming."

Resilience of music publishing

  Israelite also reflected on the impact of Covid on the music publishing sector. “It is important to understand the impact that Covid has had on that year," said Israelite."Even though the world felt the effects of Covid back in March of 2020, because of the delayed nature of much of the revenue streams for the publishing industry, there was a later impact to the industry, but it also means it will continue later in [2021] as we continue out of that problem.”

  Israelite celebrated "the resilience of the publishing industry." He elaborated: "Despite the impact of Covid, we had significant growth in 2020. And that speaks to the strength of not only the diversification of our income streams, but also because of how songs perform even in a bad economy."

  He also stressed "the importance of digital streaming and new business models," such in-home fitness, user-generated social media and gaming, as revenue boosters. Digital streaming models now account for more than 42% of the industry's revenue. "It's very significant," said Israelite. 

Increasing value of song catalogues

  He alluded to the recent wave of catalogue acquisitions, which according to him, highlight "the value of songs," noting that actually they might be "undervalued." "There’s a lot of talk about whether or not in these recent catalogue sales the buyers paid too much. What if they got a bargain?” he quipped.

  Israelite also disclosed that NMPA's legal team returned back to the industry more than $109m. Settlements with TikTok, YouTube, Snap, Triller, and Rhapsody and agreements with the three major record labels meant that NMPA returned more than 845% to its members on the dues they pay. "That means that we have had a positive return since NMPA started collecting dues," he said. 

  "We are the only trade association of which I am aware, that returns more to its members than it collects in dues," he said. Since 2005, the NMPA has returned more than $934m to its members, getting close to the billion dollars mark. 

  Ending on a positive note, Israelite concluded: “Despite our many challenges, the state of the music publishing industry is strong.”  

  > During the virtual event, the NMPA bestowed singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (pictured, below) with the NMPA Songwriter Icon Award. “I’m really, really honored to be receiving this award because it honors the part of my job that is so magical and mystifying to me still," said Swift. 

  Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) received the NMPA President’s Award for his "commitment to fostering legislation that promotes fairness for songwriters." 

  "I am proud to have been an advocate for the rights of the creative community and to work with the NMPA over many years to help ensure that the songwriters receive fair compensation for all their efforts," said Nadler in a video recording. 

  He added: "I recognise that the creative community has been especially impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and I am in awe of the resilience that the industry has demonstrated during this unprecedented time. I am hopeful that we are turning a corner in this crisis, and that the industry will be able to safely resume its full range of operations soon."

A historic opportunity

  "In Congress, passing the historic Music Modernisation Act was a remarkable bipartisan feat, and I am grateful that virtually all major industry stakeholders came together to support the bill. We seized an historic opportunity to resolve long-standing inequities in the music marketplace and because of our work together, we ensured that artists, songwriters and other music creators receive a fair market value for their work."

  He concluded: "We all have a connection to music and it is imperative that we value those who create it. As Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, I will continue to advocate for music creators, so that you can continue to create the music we all love." 

  Additionally, Country Music Association (CMA) CEO Sarah Trahern was given the NMPA Industry Legacy Award for all of her efforts "to modernise and expand the genre and to support the songwriters who form its foundation."