Brussels, where the Societies’ Council for the Collective Management of Performers’ Rights (SCAPR) is based, as seen from Mount of the Arts. Photo Credit: Ank Kumar
SCAPR has announced 8.5% performer royalties growth for 2023, when its members brought in a cumulative $1.05 billion (€955 million) thanks in part to a double-digit expansion on the public performance side.
The Societies’ Council for the Collective Management of Performers’ Rights (SCAPR), now counting as members 61 collective management organizations from 45 countries, just recently published its 2023 report.
All told, the mentioned member CMOs – referring to 47 “ordinary members” and 14 “associated members,” the likes of the U.K.’s PPL among the former – are said to represent over one million performers.
PPL earlier this week shed light on a seemingly solid Q3 2024 international-royalties distribution, and in general, the relevant organizations have been reporting revenue growth stemming from the public use of recordings. Outside the U.S., that includes usages on the radio and in businesses like restaurants, to name only a couple categories.
Now, we have a bit more color on the recorded side with SCAPR’s report. According to the resource, cumulative collections on behalf of performers hit the initially highlighted €955 million last year, up 8.5% from 2022 and 19.4% from 2021.
Behind the newest of the sums, SCAPR attributed $322.43 million/€294 million to the use of works in public establishments (up 24% YoY), $206.18 million/€188 million to private copying (down 11% YoY, though relatively few members collect the royalties), $160.12 million/€146 million from TV broadcasts (up 17% YoY), and $157.89 million/€144 million from radio (essentially flat YoY), to list a portion of the categories.
Notwithstanding these and other jumps, however, actual performer payments slipped 1.7% YoY to $694.06 million (€633 million) in 2023; SCAPR ascribed the dip to “an unusually high level of previous years’ catchup payments” in the 2021 and 2022 sums.
Overall, SCAPR members are said to have 804 representation agreements in place (including 66 new deals finalized in 2023), with $209.42 million (€191 million) transferred between them last year, up 6% YoY, per the breakdown.
Looking ahead to the future, SCAPR also noted the planned Q4 2024 launch of “an additional tool” enabling non-SCAPR CMOs to create international performer numbers (IPNs). Said tool is poised to “make the IPN even more global, ensuring that all performers are properly identified at all stages of the creation process,” according to the 38-year-old entity.
