CISAC report: Africa royalties up in 2021 but still below pre-COVID figures

This is according to the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers’ (CISAC) 2022 Global Collections Report, which offers data compiled from 228 member collective management organisations in 119 countries.

Africa recorded the largest growth in collections across all five repertoires – music, audiovisual, art, drama and literary – increasing by 17.1% to reach €75m, which was generated mostly from digital collections. Digital collections on the continent increased by a staggering 68.9% to reach a four-year high of €12.7m, but the continent underperformed by 6.4% compared to 2019’s total figures.

South Africa was the largest contributor of digital collections in Africa and nearly doubled its revenues thanks to a CAPASSO/SAMRO joint licensing agreement with Netflix, Facebook and Deezer.

Digital remained poorly represented for the whole of Africa at only 16.9% of total collections. For comparison, Europe saw a 55.2% increase in digital, which was instrumental in expanding its total contribution by 1%. Globally, digital collections saw a 27.9% increase and now account for almost one-third (32.6%) of total royalty collections.

Music collections in Africa increased by 17.5% to reach €700m, although the continent’s share of the global music pie is just 0.8%. Royalties from broadcast TV and radio rose by 19.1%, accounting for more than 44% of all collections in Africa. South Africa is still the largest collecting market, but royalties were stifled by decreasing expenditure in radio advertising.

TV and radio collections in Nigeria climbed more than fourfold due to a licensing deal between the MCSN and broadcaster MultiChoice. Senegal also saw an increase following a satellite settlement with Canal+.

Live and public performance income in Africa increased by 3.1% in 2021, but remains more than one-quarter below pre-COVID 2019. Private copying grew 6.6% to reach €10.6m. Collections in Kenya shrunk by 43.9%, while collections in Ivory Coast dramatically increased by 58.9% due to local society BURIDA partnering with town halls, national institutions and larger umbrella users including health centres and hotels. 

Latin America, meanwhile, was the only region that experienced a decline in 2021 with a 44% decrease in live and public performance collections.

“Digital royalties collected by CISAC societies are growing impressively, but the streaming world is still unfinished business when it comes to ensuring a fair environment to earn a living,” CISAC president Björn Ulvaeus said. “Too much of the data needed to identify and remunerate creators is incomplete or missing when works are ingested on streaming services. The result is a lot of money that is left on the table when it should be going into creators’ pockets.”

CISAC board chairperson Marcelo Castello Branco said: “We need to see this year not just as a return to normality but as a bridge to the next phase. In the near term, we face the prospect of economic slowdown ahead and the risks that come with the unusual combination of inflation and recession. Subscription prices are already undervalued and need to be raised, with prices having barely changed since the early days of the streaming model. Fair value and fair terms are essential so as not to compromise the remuneration of rightsholders.”

View and download the full report here.