PARIS, France (CelebrityAccess) — French performance rights organization Sacem announced that after a COVID-era slump, royalty collection rebounded in 2022.
According to Sacem, the PRO collected €1.413 billion in royalties in 2022, up by 34% from their results in 2021. During the same period, SACEM allocated €1.056 billion to rightsholders. including 390,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in 2022, up 19% year-over year.
For the second year in a row, the digital sector was the leading source of royalties for Sacem, up by 38% compared with 2021, to €493 million with the company processing 275 trillion streams and downloads in 2022.
Sacem attributed their results in 2022 to the transformation of their business model, including the implementation of new technology and regulatory changes affecting the creative sector.
During 2022, Sacem renewed agreements, launched new services (Musicstart, etc.) and was chosen to manage neighbouring rights for publishers and press agencies.
Along with the collection and distribution of royalties, Sacem played a key role in supporting the French live music sector and over the course of 2022, almost 5,000 grants were paid out jointly by Sacem and the Comité du Cœur Sacem as part of the emergency fund for authors and publishers in serious difficulty, for a total amount of €3.9 million.
“The rapid and constant evolution of the music ecosystem, combined with the possibilities offered by new technologies, have had a considerable impact on the way we create, distribute and consume music. They have opened up new territory, while at the same time creating space for a new era of development for Sacem. Never before have Sacem’s costs been so tightly under control. The strength of our tools and our expertise in authors’ rights management have enabled us to optimize the value works generate by redistributing more revenue to creators and publishers. For the first time in its history, our society distributed almost one billion euros to authors, composers and publishers who have placed their trust in us. Transformed and battle-ready, Sacem is armed to seek even greater value for its members,” stated Serge Perathoner, composer, arranger, and Chairman of Sacem’s Board of Directors
“Thanks to the resumption of concerts, the explosion of digital, the new agreements signed with the many users of Sacem’s repertoire, and the strategic shift undertaken in its transformation plan, Sacem had a record year in terms of both collections and royalties distributed. These results demonstrate, once again, our ability to adapt and strengthen our expertise in a highly competitive and rapidly changing sector. As a key local, international, and digital player, we want to go further with a Sacem 3.0 that is even closer to and more supportive of its members, more proactive and more innovative, while controlling its costs. We still face many challenges for the future of creation: securing financial resources for public broadcasting and the National Music Centre, the defense of private copying levies, the establishment of a more equitable music streaming ecosystem for creators and publishers, the fight against “buy-outs,” and the regulation of artificial intelligence. Sacem will be at the forefront, defending the rights and revenues of its members and partners as we face all these challenges,” added Sacem CEO Cécile Rap-Veber.
