In European collective management organizations (CMOs), the successes continue. On Wednesday (June 5), SACEM reported record results for 2023, with receipts up 5% to 1.49 billion euros ($1.6 billion based on the average 2023 euro-to-dollar conversion rate) compared with the prior year and distributions up 17% to 1.23 billion euros ($1.33 billion). The French COM also announced that its board voted unanimously for the extension Cécile Rap-Veberhis tenure as CEO.
The results come amid a booming period for European CMOs. In April, GEMA, the German collective management company, said revenue rose 8.4 percent in 2023 to 1.28 billion euros ($1.4 billion). PRS for Music in the UK followed at the end of May, revealing a 14.2% increase in revenue to £1.08 billion ($1.34 billion). However, in both of these cases, as well as at SACEM, the results followed years of more substantial growth fueled by music fans wanting to return to seeing live performances in the wake of the pandemic. A year ago, for example, SACEM announced it had collected 1.41 billion euros ($1.54 billion) in 2022 — 34% more than the previous year.
Slower growth appears to be bringing with it a focus on cost control, and SACEM's cost-to-income ratio is 10.76%, the lowest in its history. “What matters to me is the best value for our members,” says SACEM CEO Cécile Rap-Veber. Advertising sign. He adds that a more efficient disbursement of rights has boosted distribution growth beyond that of revenue, saying, “We're distributing faster and faster.”
The biggest source of revenue for SACEM was the internet, which rose 13% to 557 million euros ($602.67 million). The second biggest source was general rights – a category that includes places where music is central, such as concerts, as well as places where it is not – which rose 18.5% to 388 million euros ($420 million). Finally, broadcast rights, including television and radio, brought in 318 million euros ($344 million).
In recent years, Rap-Veber has helped to modernize the French CMO with an initiative known as “SACEM 3.0”, with a focus on delivering results at a reasonable cost.
“2023 was a year of affirmation for the realization of our key strategic priorities,” Rap-Veber said in a statement. “We continued our transformation to Sacem 3.0 and worked to improve efficiency, ensuring the sustainability of the management account and optimizing both our collections and the amount distributed to our members.”
More than ever, CMOs are competing for online rights — but also, on some level, bragging rights. “Competition,” says Rap-Veber, “has forced many of us to improve.”
