Despite the difficult situation of society and the economy as a whole, the German music collection company and one of the largest songwriting companies in the world, GEMA, achieved its best result ever in 2022. Its revenues totals for the financial year were EUR 1.178 billion (an increase of more than 13% compared to EUR 1.039 billion in 2021). For the first time in GEMA’s history, the distribution sum will exceed one billion euros.
Munich – The lifting of pandemic-related restrictions from the second quarter has led to a significant revival of cultural life and a significant increase in revenues from public musical performances. In addition, the growth of the online sector continued, particularly in the streaming of music and films. Overall total revenues far exceed pre-Corona levels. As a result, the music collection company will be able to distribute €1.009 billion – more than ever before – to its members and rights holders worldwide.
Dr. Harald Heker, Chief Executive Officer of GEMA, says: « Our members can expect a very satisfactory level of distribution in 2023. Including our collection mandates, total distribution will exceed one billion euros for the first time. This is an achievement record. The resurgence of music events and performances represents a relief for our members after three difficult years. The authors, like almost all of the music and cultural industry, have had to make great sacrifices in recent years and now they truly deserve this success ».
Total revenues are offset by expenses of 168.6 million euros (152.4 million euros in 2021). The expense ratio including all costs was 14.3% (2021: 14.7%) and was below the planned level of 15.6%, despite the overall inflation rate of 7.9%. This testifies to disciplined management of the budget.
Dr Harald Heker: Copyright must be constantly defended
In addition to the revitalization of the events sector, online revenues have also developed dynamically upwards. This is partly due to the general development of the market and the renewal of old-time licenses, but also particularly to the successful contract negotiations for music streaming. Audio streaming continues to be the fastest growing segment of the music industry. However, authors are still hurt by significant imbalances in revenue distribution, as demonstrated by a study of the German music streaming market by Goldmedia Consulting and Research, published in September 2022. GEMA has increasingly factored this imbalance into its cultural policy agenda . « The trend towards streaming must not lead to an infringement of copyrights. The most important task of GEMA is and remains to defend a fair remuneration in all areas and thus at the same time ensure the conditions for a lively and diverse musical and cultural landscape,” continues Heker.
Please find the most important income areas of GEMA at a glance here: www.gema.de/annual-report-2022
In Germany, GEMA represents the copyrights of almost 90,000 members (composers, lyricists, music publishers) and over two million rights holders from all over the world. It is one of the world’s largest songwriting societies for musical works.
Press contact:
Ursula Goebel, Director of Communications, Email: ugoebel@gema.de, Tel.: +49 89 48003-426
Christiane Hoschek, Senior Communications Manager, Email: choschek@gema.de, Tel.: +49 89 48003-421
