Madrid, Spain, where the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE) is based. Photo Credit: Jorge Fernández Salas
The Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE) has reported record revenue of €390 million (currently $443.1 million) for 2024, when digital collections spiked by 25.6%.
SGAE disclosed these and other financial details today; CISAC, of which SGAE is a member, also highlighted the seemingly solid results in a release. Behind the revenue total, which rose 11.7% YoY and is up close to 60% from 2020, the Madrid-based society said it’d distributed north of $396.5 million/€349 million (up about 6.1% YoY).
Meanwhile, the mentioned digital side, at $68.6 million/€60.4 million, accounted for about 15% of SGAE’s 2024 revenue, the report shows. By sub-category, streaming made up 55.6% of the digital sum, against 43.2% for “audiovisual platforms” and the remaining 1.3% for internet radio and more.
Beyond digital, the Unison rival identified double-digit collections boosts for international usages (a record $40 million/€35.2 million, up 15.4% YoY) and “live arts” ($72.9 million/€64.1 million, up 16.2% YoY).
By region, the foreign-collections total resulted from Europe ($18.6 million/€16.4 million, “primarily” attributable to France and Italy); Latin America and the Caribbean ($11.4 million/€10 million); and North America ($9.1 million/€8 million).
A breakdown of Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE) revenue by year, 2020-2024. Photo Credit: SGAE
Unsurprisingly, the live-collections sum stemmed chiefly from concerts and festivals, which kicked in $55.4 million/€48.7 million (up 7.4% YoY) during 2024. However, SGAE also pointed to a 13.2% YoY jump for performing arts to $14.1 million/€12.4 million.
Next, the 125-year-old entity confirmed $125 million/€110 million in broadcasting and cable collections for 2024; SGAE chalked up the 18.9% YoY hike in part “to various public and private television channels settling arrears.”
Finally, in terms of 2024’s top-level financials, private copying contributed $18.5 million/€16.3 million – up 57.2% YoY thanks to a once-off settlement, but down 38.1% YoY without this payment, according to the document.
And with vinyl still riding relatively high, SGAE reported $4.3 million/€3.8 million (up 11.8% YoY) in physical revenue. (Technically, the long-surging format is grappling with sales-slowdown concerns not just in Spain, but in a variety of markets.)
Rounding out the report, SGAE emphasized its continued efforts to reduce admin fees, which are said to have dropped to pre-pandemic levels last year. All told, the society’s final 2024 distribution reached 75,019 members.
Regarding Spain’s recorded music market, Promusicae in February reported a 9.4% YoY revenue improvement for 2024. Though streaming revenue grew significantly, physical sales suffered a double-digit falloff (once again by revenue) on the year, the trade body communicated.
