GEMA reports 4.3% annual revenue rise amid growth in live music and AI legal push

GEMA represents the rights of approximately 98 000 members, including songwriters, composers and music publishers, as well as around 2 million rights-holders worldwide whose works are used within Germany.

In its annual report for 2024, published on 8 April, GEMA announced total income of €1.332 billion ($1.442 billion at 2024’s average exchange rate), up from €1.277 billion in 2023.

Of that amount, €1.133 billion was distributed to rights-holders, compared to €1.082 billion the previous year.

This resulted in a cost rate of 14.9%, an improvement from 15.2% in 2023.

Commenting on the improved efficiency, GEMA’s chief financial officer, Lorenzo Colombini, said: “we are not yet where we want to be in international comparison, but we are on the right track.”

He added, “The result clearly shows that GEMA works efficiently and is consistently improving and digitising its processes. Furthermore, we are investing in new services and technologies to ensure that we remain fit for the market and the expectations of our members and customers in the future.”

The strongest area of growth came from public performance rights, which rose 13.1% year-on-year to €502.0 million, bolstered by what GEMA described as a “boom” in live concerts. There were 249,610 live events during the year, drawing nearly 69.87 million attendees.

Meanwhile, revenues from online music remained flat at €310.1 million, and collections from radio and television rose modestly by 1.2% to €308.4 million.

GEMA noted that “positive development in the video-on-demand sector continued, while music-on-demand‘s market share declined.”

Interestingly, the previous year’s report had recorded “slight growth” in online music revenues, suggesting that the sector’s two-year growth has been just 3%.

GEMA CEO Tobias Holzmüller: “2024 was marked by geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and disruptive technological developments. In this environment, GEMA demonstrated stability – financially, organisationally, and culturally.”

Holzmüller also described the 2024 distribution as “not only an economic achievement but also an expression of our responsibility towards music creators in Germany and around the world.”

GEMA’s results trail slightly behind those of Germany’s recorded music industry. According to the country’s Federal Association of the Music Industry (BVMI), recorded music sales grew 7.8% year-on-year to €2.38 billion in 2024. For the first time, digital music surpassed the €2 billion threshold.

Digital revenues reached €2.001 billion, a jump of 11.2%, accounting for 84.1% of total music sales in the world’s fourth-largest music market.

Streaming alone, excluding downloads and other digital formats, grew by 12.6% and made up 78.1% of the industry’s total revenue, according to BVMI’s February report.

Over the past year, GEMA has taken a prominent stance on matters related to artificial intelligence. It claims to be the first collection society globally to initiate legal action against developers of generative AI. In November, it filed a lawsuit against ChatGPT developer OpenAI, alleging the company used copyrighted lyrics without permission during training.

Earlier in 2024, GEMA launched another lawsuit against AI music platform Suno, alleging it had unlawfully used music recordings for training purposes. (Suno and rival Udio are also facing lawsuits in the United States brought by the major record labels: Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group).

In addition to legal action, GEMA last year proposed a licensing model for the use of copyrighted music in AI development and published an “AI charter” aimed at protecting the role of human creators in the era of AI-generated music.

“We remain firmly committed to fair rules for the digital use of music, including in relation to major platforms and AI providers,” Holzmüller said.

“Creativity needs protection, and copyright remains a fundamental pillar of our culture. We will continue to help shape that protection with innovative foresight and our strong advocacy for legal clarity.”