484 Composers Receive Monthly Royalties in Millions in Hungary
Hungary is witnessing a significant number of composers earning substantial royalty payments, according to the latest data from Artisjus, the country’s music copyright management organization.
In the past year, Artisjus distributed nearly 12 billion HUF (approximately 32.7 million USD) in royalties to songwriters and composers.
The real value of the royalties paid out in 2023 still has not reached the pre-pandemic levels, a statement from Artisjus to our publication reveals. Last year, the organization distributed close to 12 billion HUF in royalties, marking only a nominal increase. Due to significant inflation over the past years, the real value remains below what was distributed in 2020, before the impact of the pandemic.
Although the music industry gradually returned to its pre-pandemic state in 2022-23, the same cannot be said for the value of royalties, with no immediate improvement expected in the near future. The primary reason for this is Artisjus, along with other rights management organizations, is restricted by a government decision from applying even inflation-nearing increases to royalty values. In an effort to maintain the value of royalties, Artisjus and several other local copyright societies have legally contested the Ministry of Justice's decision to reject proposals for inflation-indexed increases in royalty rates, a development also reported by our paper.
Regarding online royalties, Artisjus announced a significant increase in the payments from international digital services (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), tripling the amount from 2021 to 2022. In 2023, Hungarian authors received 398.5 million HUF in royalties, a 46% increase from the previous year’s 273 million HUF. This growth is attributed to the strengthening of the local online market and the noticeable increase in the popularity of Hungarian music on streaming platforms. Viewing royalty income as a form of salary for authors, it's relevant to examine the development of these payments in relation to average wages. While more authors received royalties than ever before in 2023, growth occurred mainly in the lower income categories, with the circle of the most successful authors and the so-called “middle class” of authors narrowing in recent years.
Artisjus added that, on average, royalties constitute one-fifth of professional musicians’ income in Hungary. The remainder comes from performance fees, music teaching, grants, performing rights royalties, and sales of physical and digital recordings, as well as merchandise. It was also noted that younger creators are becoming more successful, with the average age of composers earning at least one million HUF monthly decreasing from 54 to 51 years, and their average number of active works reducing from 627 to 484 compared to the previous year. Additionally, there is an increasing number of very young registered creators, highlighting a shift in the demographics of successful composers in Hungary.