Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, which topped the IFPI’s list of EU music markets by 2023 growth percentage. Photo Credit: Deensel
European Union recorded music industry revenue totaled $5.73 billion (€5.2 million) in 2023, when nations including but not limited to Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Poland achieved double-digit year-over-year growth, according to a new report.
These and a variety of other noteworthy stats came to light in a newly released “Music in the EU” analysis from the IFPI. Diving directly into that inaugural breakdown of the European Union music industry, the aforementioned revenue total represents an 8.7% year-over-year (YoY) improvement, according to the resource.
Behind the relatively modest YoY expansion – larger than 7.2% for the U.S. but well beneath China’s previously identified 25.9% industry buildout – the report points to ample room for the EU music space to grow. In short, when adjusted for inflation, the EU music industry’s 2023 revenue represents only 61% of the sum delivered by 2001, compared to 80% for the U.S.
An insightful breakdown of how 2023 recorded music industry revenue stacks up against historical figures when adjusted for inflation. Photo Credit: IFPI
Shifting to the 2023 recorded music showings of the 22 EU member nations for which the IFPI collects chart data, the report indicates that European artists released 60% of the countries’ top-10 tracks.
On the other side of that coin, even when it comes to the European Union’s three largest exporters, 96% of their music “exports stay within the EU” from the perspective of foreign top-10 charts, the document shows. The lone exception there is David Guetta, who cracked Canada’s own top-10 chart last year.
Next, perhaps the most interesting component of Music in the EU concerns the YoY growth attributable to 22 member states’ respective recorded markets in 2023. These percentages range from a modest 3.7% (Finland) all the way to a substantial 44% (Bulgaria).
European Union Music Industry 2023 YoY Recorded Revenue Growth by Individual Market
- Bulgaria (44%)
- Baltics (21.2%)
- Italy (18.8%)
- Poland (18.3%)
- Greece (14.9%)
- Slovakia (12.6%)
- Portugal (12.4%)
- Belgium (12.4%)
- Romania (12.3%)
- Hungary (12.1%)
- Slovenia (11.0%)
- Netherlands (10.7%)
- Spain (10.6%)
- Croatia (8.9%)
- Ireland (8.4%)
- Austria (7.2%)
- Germany (7.0%)
- Denmark (6.2%)
- Sweden (6.1%)
- Czech Republic (4.5%)
- France (4.4%)
- Finland (3.7%)
Elsewhere in the report, the IFPI took the opportunity to stress the pressing need to address AI issues pertaining to training, related disclosures, and much else. In the EU, that multifaceted process now involves the enforcement specifics of the already-passed AI Act.
The rules within that voluminous law, the organization spelled out, “must be applied and observed meaningfully” so as to ensure compliance on the part of artificial intelligence developers.