Performing Right Society (PRS) for music, a UK-based rights management organization, saw a 22.9% Year-Over-Year (YoY) increase in 2022, with £964m collected in royalties.
This marked a recovery from the pandemic and is an increase of £154m (18.9%) from the previous record of £810m in 2019. Streaming music continues to be the most popular way for fans to access music, with royalties from streaming up 25% YoY to £284.3m.
The organization paid out £836.2m in royalties in 2022, a 23.5% increase on 2021, with a distribution of more than £211m in October alone. Royalties from live music generated £62.7m, an increase of 683% compared to 2021 and 16.1% in 2019.
PRS members scored music for many of the year’s blockbusters, including GRAMMY Award winner Lorne Balfe (Top Gun: Maverick), Academy Award winner Chandrabose (RRR), Steve Angello (Avatar: The Way of Water), and U2 (Sing 2). International revenues showed strong signs of recovery, with a YoY increase of 8.8% (£21.9m) to £272.4m in 2022.
PRS welcomed almost 7,000 new writers, composers and publisher members in 2022. At the beginning of 2023, PRS confirmed a new agreement with its charity arm PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading independent investor in new music, ensuring the next generation of songwriters and composers will continue to create world-leading Music in the decades to come.
