Suisa increased its income again in 2014
Suisa (Swiss Cooperative Society of Authors and Publishers of Music) once again increased its income from copyrights in 2014. In total, copyright income amounted to 141.3 million Swiss francs, 4.1% more than in the previous year.
Including ancillary income of CHF 10.3 million, total sales amounted to CHF 151.6 million. (previous year: 144.9 million francs). Administrative expenses amounted to CHF 28.1 million in 2014, meaning that the average cost deduction was reduced slightly to 12.3% (previous year: 12.47%).
According to the cooperative's official press release, developments in the digital sector also contributed to the increase: additional income from the tariff for remuneration on smartphones, rising income from the online sector and the widespread use of digital and time-shifted television. However, there is still a need for action, particularly in the online sector, to ensure that music rights holders are remunerated fairly.
Thanks to an agreement reached in July 2014 for the use of privately copied music on smartphones, artists received remuneration for several years. The retroactive payments from smartphone manufacturers and importers for the years 2010 to 2014 led to additional income of around CHF 3.6 million. The online sector has also grown strongly. In 2014, copyright revenue from downloads and streaming grew by 32% and amounted to CHF 6.1 million (previous year: 4.6 million francs).
However, the increase in downloads is only partly due to increased demand for download offers. As Suisa issues online licenses for the whole of Europe, the increase is mainly due to the increase in licensing territories. In the streaming sector, copyright revenue has increased almost fivefold from CHF 315,000 to CHF 1.5 million.
