The recorded music market in Spain already exceeds 400 million euros

22-03-2022

Promusicae announces music sales figures in 2021

Revenues grew by 15% compared to 2020 although we fall a position down in world ranking

15 million Spaniards use music audio platforms

Payment streaming reaches 4.4 million subscribers

The recorded music market got total revenues reaching 410 million euros along 2021, representing a 15% increase regarding 356 million earned in 2020, the year of the pandemic. This is the first headline from the figures announced today by Promusicae, the organisation gathering more than 95% of the Spanish recording industry, accounting for sales of digital and physical music (at retail value), synchronisations (use of music for advertising or audio visual works) and revenues coming from artists and producers' intellectual property rights management. Music sales, as a whole, represent the bulk of the figure obtained (367.2 million). Digital market reaches 83% of music consumed in our country (303.5 million), leaving the rest of turnover to physical formats (63.7 million euros). However, despite the growth, our country underwent a new regression in the world ranking of countries best sellers of music, losing a position and going down from 13 to 14. A situation that moves us away from the 9th position we held at the beginning of the century, due to a better global performance of other international markets and that strengthens the need to have specific policies that allow us to revert this trend.

A prominently digital market

One more time, streaming is the absolute leader in the Spaniards' preferences regarding music consumption habits. 98% of the digital market comes from streaming, which becomes the main booster of figures achieved, 297.4 million euros on its own.  Most of those revenues come from audio platforms (246 million), in front of video platforms (51.3 million).  These figures were made possible by some 15 million Spanish citizens who used audio streaming services this year. From them, 4.4 million paid monthly fees to obtain the benefits of subscriptions.  Data reveal a 19% growth of subscriptions regarding the year before.  On the other hand, this year the income generated from music in social media are once more outstanding.  Facebook and Instagram, mean a more and more relevant figure for the industry, since their introduction in 2020. This year, revenues regarding consumption from Tik Tok are included for the first time.

Besides, the remaining 2% of the digital market belongs to permanent downloads and sales of mobile products which, even though declining, still accounted for approximately 6 million euros turnover.

Free streaming and persistence of piracy

Nevertheless, the growth of Spanish streaming market got weighed down by the higher use of the free tier of ad supported streaming compared to other countries, to such point that Spain become the top one country in the world due to its highest rate in this kind of services. The need to get youngest people used to pay for music they daily consume is one of the greatest priorities of the industry, with the launch of the cultural voucher being prepared by the government as one of main opportunities to revert this trend. I would also help the industry to restrain the practice of stream ripping, as the 33% of internet users declare to use this illegal formula to access music (exceeding 50% among youngest users from 16 to 24 years, according to the recent IFPI report Engaging with Music).

Vinyl don't stop turning

One more year, vinyl seems to be that object of desire among those music fans who like to keep music in physical format. Something that does not occur as much in quantity (CD still prevails as physical format – and grows 6% regarding the year before – with sales of 4.4 million units in our country) as in what respects to market growth, given the higher 32% growth experienced in sales, from 1.2 to 1.6 million units. This all in all upwards performance allows to account for a 15.3% growth in physical sales. This market represents income of 63.7 million euros within the global accounting, where CD stands for almost 60% of the market and vinyl for the remaining 40%. Despite all this, physical carriers do not get to regain the landscape they held before 2020, as they do not even recover 50% of what was lost that year.

Other sources of revenues

Synchronisations and intellectual property rights management add up new income that are accounted along the year. Synchronisations, with a return to practically normal in audiovisual productions along the year, allowed to add 22.6% growth, from 2.6 to 3.2 million euros turnover. A trend with no equal in the chapter of collection for collective management rights, which although growing regarding the year before (from 37 to 1 million) does not yet reach the figures before the pandemic, due to a great extent to not having recovered 100% the normality in the sectors of accommodation, leisure and public premises where music is common use.

Assessments from the industry

Promusicae's President, Antonio Guisasola, made a positive appraisal of last year for the industry, «for achieving a new and significant rise in revenues regarding the year before, although it is to be understood that 2020 was an exceptionally difficult year with an abrupt shift in the upward pattern observed. But with nuances, given that however it is true that we are back in the way for recovery, we still have figures not reaching 50% of the maximum reached in 2001, when the sales of music meant revenues around 750 million euros in our country». He added that «we should be aiming to be at the same level of first line countries in music consumption, such as the United States, which has exceeded its past record in nominal terms (irrespective of inflation) or the United Kingdom, on the verge of doing it. For this reason, we shall continue working to obtain the necessary help and support from the administration in terms of tax incentives – equivalent to those available for the rest of cultural industries –  or the implementation of the cultural voucher among the young, so that the can have a quality approach to the music they consume.

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