Musicians' royalties up by 3%

The success of British musicians abroad and the rise of digital services including iTunes and Spotify has seen the amount of royalties paid to UK songwriters increase.

PRS for Music, the organisation representing songwriters, composers and music publishers, reported a 3.2% rise in the collection of royalties for 2011 to £630.8 million.

That is up from £611.2 million from 2010 and made up for a fall in royalties from the sale of traditional formats including CDs and DVDs.

A report, published today by the industry organisation, showed a 45.3% rise in royalties from licensed digital services to £38.5 million in 2011.

Royalties collected from the use of UK music overseas rose by 10.6% to £187.7 million.

Chief executive of PRS for Music Robert Ashcroft said: "The continuing popularity of our music in other countries demonstrates the global success of the UK music industry. Our efforts to support copyright at home and abroad, combined with the energy we continue to put into the licensing of new digital services enabled us to pay additional royalties to our members last year.

"The licensed digital market is now delivering a significant income stream for our members. This goes some way to replacing revenues lost from the declining CD market, although online piracy continues to be a problem. The way we consume music is changing, but PRS for Music is adapting to ensure those that create it can continue to earn a living."

British acts including Adele and boyband One Direction have recently enjoyed massive success in the United States, with the Someone Like You star picking up six Grammy Awards earlier this year.

One Direction, who rose to fame after losing The X Factor, recently become the first UK pop group to debut at number one on the US album chart.

PA