Global music publishing revenue rose 9.6% in 2025 to $12.2 billion, with major publishers expanding faster than independents, a MIDiA Research report released Monday (Sept. 28) shows.
Major publishers’ market share grew by 1.3% to 54.7%. Sony Music Publishing was the fastest-growing major for the second consecutive year, adding nearly a percentage point to its share.
Streaming again drove the largest share of publishing revenue in 2025. MIDiA projects that streaming’s portion of publishing revenue will continue to rise through 2033. The report also said AI and other new technologies present opportunities for publishers to secure better licensing agreements than those they have with current digital streaming partners.
Catalog funds also became a more significant revenue source. Music catalog fund publishing grew nearly 15% year over year to $1.6 billion.
Revenue mix and outlook#
MIDiA said the publishing business is positioned for growth because of a diversified revenue mix that includes:
- performance rights
- synchronization rights
- mechanical rights
- streaming
“While everyone talks about streaming, publishing’s real strength is how broadly diversified its revenue base actually is,” said Leon Farrell, senior music analyst at MIDiA. “Looking ahead, simply collecting standard royalties won’t be enough. The winners will be the publishers actively fighting for stronger value shares in emerging tech like AI.”
In the near term, streaming revenue will continue to drive a growing share of publishing revenue because of global adoption, price increases and more favorable terms for rights holders. In the long term, that growth will ebb and mechanical and performance revenues will decline, the report notes.
MIDiA senior music analyst Mark Mulligan said publishers that adapt and pursue opportunities in AI and other emerging platforms will be better positioned.
“The publishing market’s growth outlook remains strong; the next phase will reward active value creation,” Mulligan said. “Publishers will need to compete for share of new use cases, capture more of the value already being generated and position themselves for growth that is increasingly global, fragmented and complex.”
The report draws on financial data from large public and independent music companies and MIDiA’s internal global and country-specific forecast models.
