The Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) has reported its highest annual revenues in its 125-year history.
The Spanish authors’ rights society collected EUR €390 million in 2024, representing an 11.7% YoY growth and a €41 million increase compared to 2023, according to the organization’s latest financial report.
SGAE’s annual collection figure for 2024 converts to USD $422 million at the average annual exchange rate published by the IRS.
SGAE distributed more than €349 million ($378m) to its songwriter, composer and music publisher members last year, marking the org’s second-highest distribution figure ever recorded.
The org says it has lowered administration fees for its members, resulting in an additional €6.7 million ($7.25m) being returned to its members.
SGAE’s revenue growth was primarily driven by digital, which was up 25% YoY, reaching €60.4 million ($65.36m) in 2024 (see below).
Within this category, streaming specifically accounts for 55.6% of digital revenue, followed by audiovisual platforms at 43.2%. The remaining 1.3% comes from internet radio, downloads, and mobile phone ringtones.
Broadcasting and cable generated the highest revenues collected by SGAE in Spain last year, at €110 million (USD $119m), an 18.9% YoY increase from the previous year. This growth was attributed to various public and private television channels settling their arrears.
Elsewhere, live arts experienced a significant boost of 16.2% YoY, up from €55.2 million in 2023 to €64.1 million ($69m) in 2024.
The performing arts segment accounted for €12.4 million ($13.4m), seeing 13.2% YoY growth, while live popular music reached €48.7 million ($52.7m), up 7.4% YoY.
Major concerts in Spain featured international acts like Karol G at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, and Bruce Springsteen and Metallica at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
‘Foreign’ [International] revenue set a new record of €35.2 million ($38m), representing a 15.4% YoY increase compared to 2023.
The European market accounted for the largest portion at €16.4 million ($17.7m), primarily from France and Italy, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean at €10 million ($10.8m), and North America at €8 million ($8.65m).
Other notable achievements include symphony performances exceeding €3 million ($3.2m) for the first time in SGAE’s history, and revenue from physical formats increasing by 11.8% YoY to reach €3.8 million ($4.1m), largely due to the resurgence of vinyl sales.
SGAE distributes authors’ rights to its members quarterly, with monthly distributions for digital platforms, performing arts events, and major concerts.
In SGAE’s final distribution of 2024, a total of 75,019 members, including foreign societies, received income from their creative works.Music Business Worldwide
