Finland’s music industry grew 10% in 2019 with streaming making up 87% of the market according to IFPI Finland’s member companies. The value of recordings in Finland increased by 9.3% in 2019 to €55.2 million – the fifth consecutive year of growth. With other copyright revenues the total value of music consumption in 2019 increased to €78.6 million.
The increase is due to the increasing popularity of streaming services, and in particular an increase in paid subscriptions. Revenue from streaming services grew by 12.2%, bringing the streaming share to 87% of the total market. Including downloads, digital music consumption accounted for 89% of the audio market.
Sales of physical recordings decreased by 6.9% in 2019, and physical recordings now account for only 11% of the total market. The decline in sales of physical recordings was due to a 27% decline in sales of CDs only slightly offset by a 56% increase in vinyl records which now make up 39% of all physical products sold.
In common with other European countries such as Spain, France and Italy, local music dominates the charts with 36% of all recorded music being recorded by Finnish artists. There were six domestic albums on the 2019 Top 10 album list and six domestic singles on the TOP 10 single list.
Antti Kotilainen, Managing Director of IFPI Finland, said, “The year 2019 was largely positive for the Finnish recording industry, especially the success of domestic artists and the retention of Finnish music as Finland’s favourite music.”
He continued, “But the outlook for the entire cultural field is currently overshadowed by the Coronavirus and its massive economic impact, which also affects the music ecosystem. The member companies of music producers are now considering ways to keep the artists and the industry as a whole viable in the future.”
Multi-national music companies dominate the Finnish music market with Universal Music having a 35% share of the market, followed by Warner Music Finland (30%) and Sony Music Entertainment Finland (28%). The largest indie or independent company operating in Finland was Playground Music with a market share of 4.4%. Indie companies accounted for about 28% of total domestic music consumption in 2019.
