According to the Market Statsville Group (MSG), the global music licensing solution market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% from 2023 to 2033. Increasing demand for a digital platform to manage all license and rights of music content is expected to drive the growth of the market. The media and entertainment industry are increasing investment in digital rights management and music licensing to control the illegal copies available online as well as offline, which is also expected to boost the growth of the market. Increasing adoption of music rights management by individual creators is expected to generate revenue opportunities for the market during the forecast period. Growing technological advancements such as digital music licensing solutions and blockchain will contribute to the market growth over the forecast period.

Definition of the Global Music Licensing Solution Market

Music licensing is the legal permission for the use of music in various forms of media. This includes the use of music in film, television, commercials, video games, websites, and other forms of media. The process of obtaining a music license involves obtaining permission from the copyright owner of the music, typically the publisher or the composer. This process can be complex and time-consuming, but it is necessary to ensure that the rights of the musicians and copyright owners are protected.

There are several music licensing solutions available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. For instance, some companies offer blanket licenses that allow a customer to use a large library of music for a flat fee. This type of license is ideal for businesses that need to use music regularly, such as television networks or video game developers. Other companies offer specific licenses for individual songs, which can be useful for independent filmmakers or advertisers who only need to use a single piece of music.

COVID-19 Impact on the Global Music Licensing Solution Market

Covid-19 has affected music licensing, like just about everything else. A noticeable slow down has been expected in music license during COVID-19. Recording and writing can still occur in lockdown, but creative output is hampered by restrictions on writing groups, recording studios and gatherings. The live music industry, which is key to funding these creative endeavors and providing income for musicians, has suffered (and continues to suffer) a catastrophic blow. While many are aware of the income stream from touring, live performances, ticket sales and merchandise, the public performance of music at live events and as background music in bars, venues and businesses (many of which have also remained closed) also make up an extremely important income for an artist, by way of public performance royalties.

Global Music Licensing Solution Market Dynamics

Drivers: Increasing Demand for a Digital Platform to Manage all Royalties and Copyrights of Music

The popularity of the internet has accelerated the circulation of digital resources, especially music. With innovative strategies to help the artists bring music to fans in a new ways, recorded music revenues grew globally, driven primarily by paid subscription streaming. Platforms serve as (two-sided) markets in which demand meets supply. They are popular for digital content or services that “are non-rival, have near zero marginal costs of production and distribution, low marginal costs of consumer search, and little transaction costs”. Many global market leaders in the music, motion picture, and gaming industries, such as Spotify, Netflix, and Electronic Arts, provide online access to digital content, which is attractive to consumers because the platforms offer large assortments at reasonable prices.

Music IP owners have newly emerged licensing opportunities as short-form video platforms like TikTok and Triller, e-fitness platforms like Peloton, and other platforms like Facebook start licensing music IP from rightsholders. This is creating new revenue sources for music IP owners. For example, in 2020, the National Music Publishers’ Association reached a licensing agreement with TikTok, which has a large user base of 700 million worldwide monthly active users and 100 million monthly active users in the US. Prior to the agreement, the NMPA estimated that around 50% of the music publishing market was unlicensed on TikTok. Other major platforms, including Facebook and Peloton, have recently signed their first licensing agreements with music rightsholders, offering new exciting sources of income for music IP owners.

Restraints: Lack of Awareness for Music Licensing and Open-Source Music Right Management Solution Available on Internet

Lack of awareness about the advanced digital music rights platform among individual creators and musicians may restrain the growth of the market. Open-source music rights management solutions available on internet platforms are also expected to hamper the growth of the music rights management market. The importance of collective licensing to copyright owners has decreased in the streaming age.  Streaming is a highly concentrated market:  Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music together control two-thirds of the global streaming market.  Thus, it has never been easier for copyright owners to license a handful of platforms that deliver the lion’s share of revenue.  Further, technology has markedly reduced the costs of use-tracking and royalty distribution.  All streams are automatically logged, and royalties are automatically distributed based on usage data.  As a result, the major record labels often directly license millions of sound recordings to streaming services without using a collective. The major concern with collective licensing has long been the monopoly pricing potential of collective copyright control, especially when collective licensing is combined with blanket licensing. 

Opportunities: Rising Penetration of Advanced Technologies like Blockchain

With blockchain, musicians are able to receive equitable royalty payments, venues are able to curb counterfeit tickets and record companies can easily trace music streams and instantly pay all artists who contributed to songs or albums. Artists like Lupe Fiasco, Gramatik and Pitbull have advocated for decentralized technologies in music, and proponents champion blockchain’s distributed ledger technology as a fair and transparent way to efficiently release music, streamline royalty payments, eliminate expensive middlemen and establish a point of origin for music creators. Further, the blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), could disintermediate huge portions of the music industry. They will also increasingly allow artists and creators to better monetize their content by providing it directly to consumers.

Scope of the Global Music Licensing Solution Market

The study categorizes the music licensing solution market based on type and application area at the regional and global levels.

By Type Outlook (Sales, USD Billion, 2019-2033)

• Royalty Free License
• Synchronization License
• Public Communication License
• Master License
• Others

By Application Outlook (Sales, USD Billion, 2019-2033)

• Movie/Album
• Television
• Commercial Video
• Others

By Region Outlook (Sales, USD Billion, 2019-2033)

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • France
  • UK
  • Spain
  • Poland
  • Russia
  • The Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Czech Republic
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Indonesia
  • Malaysia
  • Thailand
  • Singapore
  • Australia & New Zealand
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• South America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Colombia
  • Rest of South America
• The Middle East & Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • South Africa
  • Northern Africa
  • Rest of MEA

Central Processing Unit segment accounts for the largest market share by type

Based on the type, the market is divided into royalty free license, synchronization license, public communication license, master license, and others. Royalty free license segment is expected to dominate the market share in 2021. Music royalties are the ongoing earnings musicians and artists make from people using their music. There are loads of different ways they can earn royalties, including every time their tracks are played publicly. Further, the royalty-free music offers an easier and more flexible solution for licensing music, although it doesn’t always mean that one can use the music however, they want.

North America is expected to witness the largest market share by Region

Based on the regions, the global music licensing solution market has been segmented across Europe, North America, the Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific, and South America. North America is projected to account for the highest market share in 2022. Music licensing solutions have been gaining popularity in North America in recent years. With the rise of digital content and digital media, music licensing has become an important aspect of the entertainment industry. This has driven the demand for music licensing solutions in North America as companies aim to secure the rights to use music for their products, advertisements, and promotions. The growth of music streaming services and music distribution platforms has also contributed to the growth of the music licensing market in North America. The market is expected to continue its growth trajectory, driven by the increasing demand for music and the growing number of companies looking to secure the rights to use music for their operations.

Key Market Players in the Global Music Licensing Solution Market

The music licensing solution market is a significant competitor, and extremely cutthroat in the sector are using strategies including product launches, partnerships, acquisitions, agreements, and growth to enhance their market positions. Most sector businesses focus on increasing their operations worldwide and cultivating long-lasting partnerships.

Major key players in the global music licensing solution market are:

• Music Vine
• Audioio
• Filmstro
• Artlist
• Marmoset
• Soundstripe
• Epidemic Sound
• Lickd
• Jukeboxy
• Songclip
• Custom Channels
• Tuned Global
• Halidon
• Feed.fm
• RTI Control
• Vistex
• Jamendo
• ESMAA
• TuneLicensing
• Songtradr
• Amurco
• TuneBud
• Soundscape.io
• SongDivision
• Blòkur
• Music Reports
• OneMusic
• Cheer Canada

Key Issues Addressed

• What is the market size by various segmentation of the music licensing solution by region and its respective countries?
• What are the customer buying behavior, key takeaways, and Porter's 5 forces of the music licensing solution market?
• What are the key opportunities and trends for manufacturers involved in the music licensing solution supply chain?
• What are the fundamental dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges) of the market?
• What and how regulations, schemes, patents, and policies are impacting the growth of the market?
• What are the upcoming technological solutions influencing market trends? How will existing companies adapt to the new change in technology?
• The market player positioning, top winning strategies by years, company product developments, and launches will be?
• How has COVID-19 impacted the demand and sales of music licensing solution in the global market? Also, the expected BPS drop or rise count of the market and market predicted recovery period.
• Detailed analysis of the competitors and their latest launch, and what are the prominent startups introduced in the target market? Also, detailed company profiling of 25+ leading and prominent companies in the market.