Streaming grows 31.2% in Canada in 2019 with total album equivalent audio consumption increasing by 18.1% according to Nielsen. While audio song streams were up, total physical album sales in Canada declined by 23.3% to 10.4m copies in 2019 and digital album sales falling 24.5% to 3.8m units.
According to SOCAN, a Canadian performance rights collective, 7.8 million Canadians (22% of the population) subscribe to a streaming music service. Once again the growth in music videos on YouTube outstripped the growth in streaming recording a 59.7% year on year increase highlighting the so-called ‘value gap’. According to Music Canada, the country’s recording industry association, “35% of respondents to a 2018 IFPI survey cited the availability on YouTube of the music they want as a major reason for not using paid audio subscription services.”
SOCAN’s total annual collections exceeded CAN $400 million for the first time, with an estimated CAN $405.5 million collected in fiscal year 2019 – an increase of 8% over 2018. Digital royalties were CAN $86.1 million in 2019 giving a SOCAN member who earned any royalties last year an average of only CAN $67 from domestic digital royalties.
The company also reported that the number of members who earned royalties in 2019 increased by nearly 3,000, as the company continues to attract songwriters, composers, and music publishers who want to start, and build, their careers with SOCAN.
SOCAN CEO Eric Baptiste, said, “Royalties from television, radio, international, and concerts remain strong, but most growth this year came from domestic digital sources, and it’s clear that more must be done to improve the SOCAN writer’s and publisher’s shares from streaming royalties.”
