Indie Publishing Growth, Music Funding Surge, and the Return of the No Fakes Act

How The Music Business Works - Issue #7

April 10, 2025

Welcome to another edition of How the Music Business Works—your weekly look at what’s shaping the industry behind the scenes.

Last week, we introduced the Royalty Compressor—a tool built by Music Admin to take the headache out of bulky royalty files. It shrinks down raw CSVs from platforms like YouTube or The MLC, making them faster to load, easier to read, and ready to drop into Music Maestro or your favorite reporting setup.

This week, we’ve got an exciting update: the Compressor now supports MLC reports! And we’re not stopping there—more report types are on the way in the next release. Stay tuned.

Give it a try!—No cost, no hassle—just cleaner data in seconds.

Time for the latest…

This week, independent publishing is on the rise, with global revenues climbing even as market share dips. A new report also shines a light on Latin America’s indie music scene, revealing the realities of artist income and streaming reach across the region.

In Europe, GEMA paid out over $1.2 billion to rightsholders in 2024 and ramped up legal action against AI misuse. Meanwhile, March brought a flood of funding to the industry—over $5 billion—pointing to investor confidence in music rights, tech, and innovation.

And in Washington, the No Fakes Act is back on the table, with YouTube and major industry players backing new protections against unauthorized AI-generated replicas of artists’ voices and likenesses.

Let’s dig into the details.

Latest IMPF Report Shows Indie Music Publishing Revenues Grew, Even Though Market Share Dipped​

In 2023, the global independent music publishing sector saw strong financial growth, with revenues rising 5.7% year-over-year to reach €2.57 billion, according to a new report from the Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF). This marks a significant increase of over 105% since 2018. Despite the rise in earnings, indie publishers’ global market share slipped slightly from 26.7% in 2022 to 26.3% in 2023, continuing a downward trend observed over the last three years. The report attributes this dip in market share to continued consolidation in the music publishing sector, where independent catalogs are increasingly being acquired by major publishers or financial investors.

German Collection Society Distributed $1.22BN To Rightsholders In 2024, Up 4.7% YOY​

In 2024, German collection society GEMA reported revenues of €1.332 billion (approximately $1.442 billion), a 4.3% increase from the previous year. They distributed €1.133 billion ($1.226 billion) to rightsholders, up 4.7% year-over-year. Public performance rights income saw a significant rise of 13.1% to €502.0 million ($543.3 million), driven by a surge in live concerts. Online music collections remained steady at €310.1 million ($335.6 million), while radio and TV collections experienced a modest 1.2% growth to €308.4 million ($333.8 million). GEMA also initiated legal actions against AI developers, including lawsuits against OpenAI and Suno, for alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted material.

YouTube is supporting the ‘No Fakes Act’ targeting unauthorized AI replicas​

The ‘No Fakes Act’ has been reintroduced in Congress, aiming to regulate unauthorized AI-generated replicas of individuals’ likenesses. This bipartisan effort seeks to balance innovation with personal rights, empowering individuals to request the removal of such content. Supporters include YouTube, SAG-AFTRA, and the Recording Industry Association. Critics, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have raised concerns over potential overreach. Additionally, YouTube is expanding its ‘likeness management technology’ pilot to help creators detect and remove unauthorized AI content.

March Music Industry Funding Tops $1.5BN as Catalog Financing Surges​

In March 2025, the music industry experienced a major surge in funding, reaching a total of $5.08 billion—a dramatic increase compared to the $63.52 million raised during the same month in 2024. This sharp uptick highlights a renewed investor appetite across multiple sectors of the industry. Significant capital was directed toward the acquisition of music rights, the development of AI-driven tools and platforms, the growth of social music and fan engagement technologies, and the global expansion of emerging music markets. The scale and diversity of this funding wave suggest strong confidence in the long-term value of music assets, as well as in the potential of new technologies to reshape how music is created, distributed, and monetized.

WIN Report Explores Digital Trends For Independent Music In Latin America​

A recent report by the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) and the Latin American Independent Music Observatory (OLMI) examines digital trends affecting independent musicians in Latin America.  The study reveals that live performances constitute 60% of the surveyed artists’ income. While over 60% earn from music streaming services, fewer than 10% make more than $5,000 annually from these platforms. In countries like Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Paraguay, only about 30% of artists have over 500 monthly listeners. The report also highlights a lack of knowledge among artists regarding their music distribution and associated commissions. However, it notes that countries with better networking and infrastructure exhibit higher professionalization and income levels among artists.