2024 was a successful year for music authors

SUISA has never collected as much money for music creators as it did in 2024, the cooperative society of authors and publishers of music announced at its General Assembly. The very good result is mainly due to the growing online and concert market. SUISA generated a total of CHF 219.5 million in operating income in 2024. Of this, it distributes CHF 187.3 million to composers, lyricists and publishers of music. At the General Assembly, National Councillor Stefan Müller-Altermatt (Die Mitte) was also elected to the SUISA Board.

Zurich, 23 June 2025 - SUISA, the Cooperative Society of Authors and Publishers of Music in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, has once again increased its result in the 2024 financial year and exceeded the record income from copyrights in Switzerland and abroad from 2023: The SUISA Group took in CHF 209.9 million in licence income from copyrights last year - almost 6% more than in the previous year (CHF 198.1 million). Together with ancillary operating income of CHF 9.6 million, operating income totalled CHF 219.5 million, 6.3% higher than in the previous year (CHF 206.6 million).

Sharp rise in online sales and concerts

Last year, the SUISA Group recorded the biggest increase in the worldwide licensing of online music: revenues rose sharply again and, at CHF 58.1 million, were 22.8% higher than in the previous year (CHF 47.3 million). Higher income from the video on demand business in Switzerland and from the audio streaming business of the subsidiary SUISA Digital Licensing contributed in particular to this excellent result. SUISA Digital Licensing's income stems from licence agreements with online providers for streaming music, such as Spotify and YouTube.

Income from performance rights is also continuing to grow. These totalled CHF 60.4 million in 2024, 4.8% more than in 2023 (CHF 57.6 million). This growth reflects the continuing trend in Switzerland towards attending music events and concerts in particular.

Most of the income continues to come from broadcasting rights. Although licence income from this area fell by 3.2% compared to the previous year, it still amounted to CHF 60.7 million (CHF 62.7 million in 2023). The decline is due in particular to the use of music in private radio and TV stations, which are suffering from the fact that more and more advertising contracts are migrating to the online sector.

At CHF 14.8 million, income from blank media levy remained at the same level in 2024 as in the previous year. In contrast, the downward trend in mechanical rights continued in 2024: SUISA collected CHF 3.4 million in this area, 10.4% less than in the previous year (CHF 3.8 million). In contrast, income from abroad developed favourably, increasing by 5.3% in 2024 and amounting to CHF 12.5 million (2023: CHF 11.9 million).

More money for authors and publishers

The authors and publishers of music are pleased with the very good result: the SUISA Group can distribute CHF 187.3 million to composers, lyricists and music publishers in Switzerland and abroad in the current year, which corresponds to an increase of 6.4% compared to the previous year (CHF 176.0 million).

In contrast to the strong increase in operating income, the SUISA Group's total costs increased only slightly by 1.0% compared to the previous year and amounted to CHF 42.8 million in 2024 (2023: CHF 42.4 million). The SUISA Group was thus also able to keep the average cost deduction in the settlements for 2024 stable at 12.91% (previous year: 12.85%).

National Councillor Stefan Müller-Altermatt elected to the Board of Directors

At the SUISA General Assembly, National Councillor Stefan Müller-Altermatt (Die Mitte, SO) was newly elected to the Board. In addition to his work in the National Council, Stefan Müller-Altermatt is also involved in various mandates in the field of music, including as President of the Swiss Music Council from 1 August 2025. He replaces Councillor of States Johanna Gapany (FDP, FR), who has resigned from the SUISA Board.

New challenges with artificial intelligence and the SRG initiative

The very good financial year should not obscure the fact that music creators worldwide are operating in an increasingly difficult environment. In particular, the unclear legal situation in the artificial intelligence (AI) report is a challenge: AI providers train their AI models with copyright-protected works without remunerating the creative artists for this. AI-generated music thus competes with existing musical works. Appropriate political initiatives, internationally coordinated efforts and court cases will be needed to ensure that authors and publishers receive the remuneration to which they are entitled.

There is also uncertainty regarding the future of SRG. SRG's broadcasters are enormously important, especially for Swiss cultural production and thus for SUISA members. The adoption of the popular initiative "SRG: 200 francs is enough!" would lead to a massive reduction in income for SRG, which would also have a negative impact on culture. SUISA rejects any weakening of the public media service and will fight the initiative together with other cultural organisations in the referendum.

The SUISA Group's key figures from the 2024 financial year (in CHF million)

You can find SUISA's 2024 Annual Report here.

Media information:

Giorgio Tebaldi
Head of Communication SUISA
Phone +41 44 485 65 03
E-Mail: giorgio.tebaldi@suisa.ch

About SUISA

SUISA is the co-operative society of composers, lyricists and music publishers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Its more than 44,000 members include musicians from all genres. In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, SUISA represents the music repertoire of two million music authors worldwide. It grants licences for the use of this world repertoire to over 120,000 customers. In 2017, SUISA founded the joint venture Mint Digital Services together with the US music organisation SESAC. The company is responsible for the settlement and administration of the cross-border music licensing business of the SESAC Music Group and SUISA with online providers and also offers its services to publishers.

With around 220 employees at its offices in Zurich, Lausanne and Lugano, SUISA generates a turnover of over CHF 200 million. As a non-profit organisation, it distributes the income from licences to music authors and publishers after deducting administrative costs. www.suisa.ch