According to FIMI, the organization that represents the Italian recorded music industry, in 2022 Italian music experienced an important growth of 11.1% and more than € 370 million revenues.
In line with previous years, these revenues are mainly driven by streaming - which grew by 17.7%. The segment now accounts for 66.7% of total recording industry revenue, driven by a 13.7% increase in streaming subscriptions over 2021 while the ad-supported segment also grew by 36.2%, including revenues from social media such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
On the other hand, the physical sector marked a general -2.2% while the vinyl trend held, leading a comeback of 11.7%. This is despite the decline in the physical sector, a natural result of the ever more pressing digitization of the Italian market, thanks to the valuable results of the local repertoire that dominated the album and singles charts in 2022 Italian physical market, which remains one of the strongest internationally, ranking eighth in the global chart.
Synchronizations went also well: they stand at +26.5% with over 13 million.
Regarding the music export, it was a year with growing revenues for the Italian recording industry, which marks a +15% royalty revenue (physical, digital, synchronization and performance rights), having generated almost 22 million euros in 2022: it is an increase driven in particular by digital revenues, up 12% compared to last year.
The effects of investment activities by record companies on the local repertoire are confirmed in a context in which Italian consumers, according to the IFPI’s Engaging with Music research, spent over 20 hours a week listening to music in 2022: 70% of consumers listen through the free and subscription audio streaming format, while over half of young people aged between 16 and 24 use paid audio streaming services.
The results can be seen in the great success of the Italian repertoire: while for the third year in a row the top ten Albums was completely dominated by the local acts and for the second year the top ten Single is fully dominated by the local repertoire, in terms of certifications 2022 closed with 267 Albums, 2 Compilations and 325 Singles certificates, for a total of 594 titles. About streaming volumes (free + premium), in 2022 558 albums (+79 compared to the previous year) exceeded the threshold of 10 million streams: they belong to a total of 336 artists (+34 compared to 2021). This is a surprising difference compared to the results of the previous decade: in 2012 only 137 albums (corresponding to 92 artists) had in fact exceeded the equivalent threshold of 10,000 copies sold (physical + download).
"The success of Italian music, the strong affirmation of a new generation of artists who represent the great change that has taken place in the sector, is also the result of the heavy investments the recording industry made over the years, even during the difficult phase of the pandemic" has commented the CEO of FIMI, Enzo Mazza. “In the last ten years, the average age of the artists in the top ten has dropped by 35%, highlighting a generational turnover that no other cultural sector has been able to accomplish in our country” concluded Mazza.
The positive effect of the Culture Bonus should also be noted, which in 2022 generated over 19 million euros for recorded music.