Authors’ societies collected €14.06 billion for music creators in 2025, up 11.9%, according to CISAC’s 2026 Global Collections Report. The figures measure royalties collected through participating organizations, rather than sales of recorded music.
One change in the accounts matters when comparing years. CISAC included figures from the U.S. Mechanical Licensing Collective for the first time. In its November 4 release, the organization said that addition explained roughly 52% of the annual increase across all repertoires.
The broader total, which also includes audiovisual works, visual art, literature and drama, reached €15.5 billion, up 11.3%. The 52% figure refers to growth in that broader total; it is not the MLC’s share of music royalties.
For songwriters, the report answers a market question rather than a personal one. It shows how much the societies collected in aggregate. It does not tell a writer what one stream earned, how collections were divided or when an individual payment arrived.