In an era where streams have almost completely replaced records, artists need to reinvent themselves and change their business model. In this article we will analyze the current composition of the Italian music market.
Article written by Beatrice Nardone and Alex Sica - 01.07.2022
The record market in Italy, according to the Global Music Report-State of the Industry of Ifpi, the international federation of the phonographic industry, is worth 322 million euros.
Very few records are sold today in Italy. Contrary to what is happening in the United States, where the RIAA certifies the exact number of copies sold every week, the Italian equivalent of FIMI does not provide detailed data. There are the exceptions of artists with impressive fan bases like Vasco Rossi or Ultimo capable of exceeding the 30,000 physical units sold in the first days after production. Today lower numbers are enough to reach the top of the weekly ranking of the best-selling albums in Italy.
But then why is it still considered in excellent condition? The answer is that Spotify and the digital market grew thanks to technological innovations.
The streaming audio and video segment reached 208 million in revenues, more than 24.6%. In 2021 Spotify had closed the year with 180 million Premium Users out of 406 million total. At the beginning of 2022, there was an increase in subscribers.
In 2020 the market value, according to the research "The music that €onta" conducted by AFI was 250 million euros, and thanks to the digital that the music business of records has survived covid-19, without suffering the crisis related to live shows and copyright.
In 2021, for the digital market revenues between January and June reached 124.2 million euros. It's four times higher than the physical market, whose value in the first half of 2021 corresponds only to 24.1 million euros.
Few albums were sold, but paradoxically the number of artists who have sales successes is growing in 2020. To FIMI reports 246 Italian artists had exceeded ten million streams against 97 in 2010 who had exceeded the threshold of ten thousand copies sold between physical and download.
Online digital consumption recorded growth in premium subscriptions of 18.5% at the end of 2020, with revenue exceeding 104 million euros.
There was a significant increase in consumption on the social network, where revenues from advertising-supported models grew by 31.59% to reach a total of 38.9 million euros; and video streaming, which scores + 24.97%, is not far behind.
The large use of channels, such as Instagram and Facebook, during the pandemic, has accelerated these platforms in addition to traditional services such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and others.
Thus, the digital market share reaches 81% of all industry revenues in Italy, compared to 72% in 2019. Between physical, digital, and rights, the market generated over 258 million euros last year, marking +1.44% over the previous year. Unlike the physical segment and the rights that have been affected.
In 2021, thanks to the sharp rise in the national record market (+27.8%), Italy, after five years, returns to the top ten of the most important markets worldwide.