Florence, Italy. Photo Credit: Tom Podmore
On the strength of continued vinyl and streaming expansions, the Italian music industry achieved 14.2% year-over-year (YoY) growth during 2023’s initial half, according to newly released data.
The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) reached out to Digital Music News today with the H1 2023 recorded music stats behind the Italian music industry, including a total market size of about €176.09 million (currently $191.47 million).
Within the sum and its aforementioned 14.2% YoY boost, FIMI relayed that digital revenue (from streaming as well as downloads) had come in at about €141.68 million/$154.10 million (up approximately 16% YoY), accounting for some 84% of the six-month stretch’s income (excluding sync).
In keeping with well-established trends, streaming – and especially paid subscriptions – drove digital’s improvement, with the industry representative having specifically highlighted €90.85 million/$98.81 million in subscription streaming revenue (up 18.2% YoY) and €28.56 million/$31.06 million in ad-supported streaming revenue (up 22.9% YoY).
(Italy was among the over 50 markets in which Spotify bumped its pricing earlier this year; individual subscriptions now cost €10.99/$11.95 apiece monthly, compared to €14.99/$16.30 for the Duo option and €17.99/$19.57 for the family package.)
Though video streaming income fell slightly from 2022’s opening half, to €19.58 million/$21.30 million, the Italian music industry turned in heightened permanent-download revenue (€2.61 million/$2.84 million, up 16.7% YoY) and a 25.4% YoY increase for mobile revenue (chiefly from ringtones), the resource shows.
Notwithstanding the ongoing buildout of streaming in the European nation – where the IFPI continues to zero in on websites that allegedly facilitate infringement – physical revenue climbed by 9.4% YoY to approach €27.94 million/$30.39 million, according to FIMI.
While the long-resurging vinyl rather predictably led the charge on the physical side, to the tune of €16.88 million/$18.36 million (up 14.3% YoY), the Italian music industry also enjoyed 5.3% YoY revenue growth en route to generating €10.94 million/$11.90 million or so, per the report.
Rounding out the initially disclosed €176.09 million in revenue, FIMI classified €6.47 million/$7.04 million in the sync category, marking a less than 1% YoY dip.
Italy isn’t the only European music market that expanded during H1 2023, as the German Music Industry Association (BVMI) one month back pointed to €1.06 billion/$1.15 billion in total revenue for Q1 and Q2. According to the organization, 75.7% of the sum resulted from streaming, against a 6% contribution from vinyl.
Of course, the substantial industry growth in these and other markets has been accompanied by strong earnings reports from individual companies. To be sure, multiple businesses – among them Spotify, CTS Eventim, Live Nation, Sony Music, Hybe, SM Entertainment, Believe, and Reservoir Media – have reported double-digit YoY revenue spikes for Q2 and/or H1 2023.