INDIES JUMP TO 46.7% SHARE, REVENUES $14.3B
Indie labels and self-releasing artists jumped to 46.7% of the global recorded-music market in 2023 with revenues of US$14.3 billion, according to UK-based Midia Research.
This is based on an ownership basis, with a break-down showing indie labels with a 40.8% share and artist-direct distributors such as Ditto Music and TuneCore having a 5.9% share.
The Midia report adds that non-majors share on a distribution basis was 34.2%.
Distributed
“Non-major revenue distributed by the majors was $3.8 billion in 2023,” wrote MD Mark Mulligan.
The report also suggests that less than half a percent of the nearly 13,000 labels in the independent sector generate a third of the revenues.
“The big difference is the health of the long tail,” wrote Mulligan.
Long Tail
“In streaming, the long tail of artists account for less than 5% of revenues. But non-major labels with $1 million annual revenue account for a similar share of revenue as …