Merlin Releases 2015 Survey on Digital Music Growth

At A2IM’s annual meeting, Merlin CEO Charles Caldas presented Merlin’s 2015 Membership survey. The survey outlines how international Independent labels are crossing a digital tipping point. Some key findings:

For the first time, more than half of respondents reported that digital income currently represents over 50% of their overall business revenues. For 1 in 3, it represents over 75% of their overall revenues.
Streaming & subscription income is driving digital growth. 1 in 3 respondents reported that income from audio streaming & subscription services currently represents over 50% of their digital revenue. Up from 1 in 5 in 2014. Similarly, last year, almost half of respondents stated that streaming & subscriptions accounted for less than 25% of their digital revenue. In 2015, this was only the case for a quarter of respondents.
Total digital revenues increased for almost 75% of respondents. 17% reported total digital revenues increased by over 50%.
The majority of Merlin members report overall business growth. Despite a market in transition and a drop in a la carte download sales, 65.04% of respondents reported an increase in overall business revenues in 2014 (compared to 62.38% in 2013). 15.93% of respondents reported a decrease in overall 2014 business revenues (compared to 18.10% the previous year).