First-ever international ICMP Music Publishing Markets Analysis launched

The ICMP, the global trade body for the music publishing industry, has issued the headline revenue findings of the first-ever economic report on the size and nature of key international music publishing markets.

The ICMP Music Publishing Markets Analysis 2025 disclosed the findings of a detailed survey carried out among two types of respondents: ICMP’s Board companies – Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, BMG, Concord Music Publishing, Reservoir Media, Kobalt and peermusic – as well as Collective Management Organisations around the world – including in the USA, UK, France, Germany, Brazil, Austrailia and many others. This is the first time these music companies have reported their worldwide revenue data.

The publicly disclosed data included the collective licensing distributions from across 16 key music markets, spanning 5 continents disclosing revenue totals (per market and aggregate), revenue per type of rights, unprecedented insights to distributions to publishers and songwriters, evidence of the work done by music publishing companies for songwriters and spotlight the value of the most crucial part of music’s value chain – the song.

The aggregate amount for the 16 selected markets is more than $11 billion dollars. This number comprises direct revenue by music publishing companies and distributions by CMOs (as opposed to collections) for selected markets, thereby providing unprecedented clarity. The UK’s sole contribution was $1.68 Billion in revenue – 56.2% Domestic and 43.8% Foreign.

MPA CEO, Paul Clements said: “This publication marks a pivotal moment for our industry, quantifying the value of our sector across 16 leading countries. While the size of the music publishing market may vary from one country to another, the challenges we face are often shared – shifting consumer behaviour, economic changes, App Store infringement on a global scale, and the threat of copyright law changes in favour of AI are just a few examples for the need for stronger than ever collaboration between international music publishing trade bodies and their publisher members. The ICMP’s report provides invaluable insights as we work together to protect our members’ interests and harness opportunities for further growth.”