Report

The Music Publishing Market size is estimated at USD 7.26 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 9.66 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 5.87% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

In the music publishing sector, wearable and wireless technology are popular solutions. These mobile devices are helpful at concerts and live performances. Most music business vendors collaborate with value chain enablers to gain simple access to and reach the customer base, enabling music listening through these mediums and creating a considerable user base.

The worldwide music publishing market is expanding in parallel with the number of artists and live performances. Furthermore, developing the media and entertainment sectors is a significant driver of the music publishing market.

The process of buying and licensing musical compositions' rights from songwriters, composers, or other right holders is known as music publishing. Most music publishing income comes from five main types of royalties: mechanical, performance, synchronization, digital, and other. Other duties of music publishing include song acquisition, copyright management, and copyright protection.

Recording, selling, publishing, and disseminating musical content are all included in music publishing. Songwriters, vocalists, and publishing companies enter into a contract to publish songs or albums for the market.

Music publishers serve as critical intermediaries between songwriters and recording businesses. The music publisher requires the song's copyright and a fee to publish the music content, generally called royalty.

Because of the popularity of music streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora, physical music sales have decreased. However, the business is growing due to an increasing number of musicians worldwide and recent technological advances in music. Music publishers are in high demand since many artists and musicians rely on them for individualized assistance in managing their music, copyrights, and other assets. Furthermore, the media business has done well as customers have switched to digital channels.

While technology fosters growth, it no longer competes with or is adjacent to the music industry. Record labels are enhancing and harnessing it as part of the industry. However, piracy and unethical downloads via proxy sites are a few challenges impeding industry growth.

COVID-19 significantly impacted the music and arts sectors. Numerous music-related occasions, such as festivals, concert tours, and award ceremonies, have been postponed or canceled. Some composers and musicians could use the opportunity to create new works; nonetheless, there were unforeseen effects for the numerous others who assisted in performances. Several record releases were postponed.

Music Publishing Market Trends

Digital Revenue has the Largest Growth in the Market

The songwriting and publishing communities have been combating not only the unequal payment structure of streaming, which sees recorded-music rights holders paid three times what publishing is produced, but also the music industry's unbalanced power and payment structures since the start of the streaming-fueled recovery a few years ago.

Music publishing companies are primarily concerned with securing and registering copyrights for musical works under the law and marketing and allowing these compositions for use in recordings, radio, television, motion films, live performances, print, or other media. The interests of songwriters or other owners of musical compositions in producing income from those songs are represented by businesses in this sector, frequently through licensing agreements. These organizations may be the copyright owners or serve as administrators on their behalf. This industry includes music book and sheet music publishers.

The RIAA states that there are many other types of streaming, such as paid subscriptions, ad-supported music streaming services, digital and customized radio, music licensing for Facebook, and digital fitness programs. The release includes TikTok music revenue from the United States, allowing labels to license new apps, services, and formats by utilizing their unique work. These revenues climbed by 24% yearly to USD 12.4 billion, accounting for 83% of overall sales - a level identical to the previous year.

The music industry is one of many that has embraced the advancement of streaming. It has deliberately driven it. The expansion of streaming is one component of a corporation that has formed alliances with the most significant and forward-thinking technology companies and is dedicated to realizing the potential given by technological breakthroughs.

Various developments are taking place in the market under consideration. For example, LimeWire, a digital collectibles marketplace, said last year that it had formed its first major music label collaboration with Universal Music Group (UMG) and would collaborate to make digital music collectibles more accessible to a broader audience.


- YouTube Music was the most downloaded music and audio app in the Google Play Store in the previous year, according to Airnow. More than 9.42 million Android users downloaded the streaming service. With around four million downloads from global consumers, Shazam was the second-most popular music and audio app.


North America Accounts for Significant Share in the Market


- North America is one of the regions with the music publishing industry's fastest revenue growth. Using sheet music is helping North American music publishers grow and bring in more money. The most significant portion of the global market for music publishing came from the United States. Numerous traditional and independent music publishing companies in the nation are fueling the expansion since they provide musicians with the most significant opportunities to display their talent.
- Many collaborations were formed in the region. A worldwide administration and marketing agreement between Memory Lane Music Group and The Atlas Music Group has been reached. Jody Williams, a music business veteran in Nashville, established Jody Williams Songs as a collaborative publishing project with Warner Chappell Music Nashville. Furthermore, the rising popularity of music festivals in the United States is anticipated to have an even more significant impact on public performance license revenue. The United States currently hosts over 800 music events.
- Small and big music publishing organizations are in the highly competitive US market. This puts publishing companies under pressure to deliver more albums each year while maintaining the same level of quality. The nation is also seeing a decline in consumer preference for physical and online purchases. It is projected that this factor will boost market growth. It is projected that this factor will encourage market growth.
- In the previous year, To create an integrated global publisher services administration and licensing division that will be known as SX Works Global Publisher Services (SX Works), SoundExchange, the music tech company driving the future of music, announced that it is consolidating its current publisher services offering.
- In the last year, to create a digital publishing platform with more than 100,000 artists, Kakao Entertainment, a popular mobile content platform provider in Korea, announced the merger of its North American subsidiaries, Tapas Media and Radish Media. In addition to extending Kakao Entertainment's worldwide IP value chain, the merger of two top digital publishers creates a synergistic community of storytellers in the North American market.


Music Publishing Industry Overview

The music publishing market is highly fragmented due to many local and regional players. Some of the major players in the market include Sony Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Warner/Chappell Music Inc., among others.


- May 2023 - Tips Music (Tips industry) and Sony Music Publishing (SMP) has signed a global publishing agreement. According to the company's news release, the agreement will allow Sony Music Publishing to manage and market the music globally, broadening the audience for Tips Music's extensive portfolio. This partnership between Tips Music and Sony Music Publishing is proof of the rising popularity of Indian music and the possibilities for cooperation and expansion it presents. The collaboration between Tips Music and SMP is predicted to increase the Bollywood music label's publishing and royalties while allowing its artists to reach a larger worldwide audience.
- February 2023 - David Gates, a renowned singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, and Kipahulu Music Co., his publishing company, have expanded their cooperation with Sony Music Publishing's global publishing administration. Gates' association with the corporation, which dates back to the 1960s, continues through the deal.
- June 2022 - Songclip, the world's patented music clip firm, announced a multi-year global strategic relationship with Universal Music Group (UMG), the international music entertainment, and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), the world's top global music publisher. As a primary component, music boosts app and social platform user engagement and loyalty. Songclip's collaboration with UMG and UMPG enables the integration of the most comprehensive global music repertoire as a specialized feature across partners in the increasing App and social media industry. The technological suite at Songclip ensures that all music is properly accounted for and licensed.


Additional Benefits:

- The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
- 3 months of analyst support