The overall value of the Finnish music industry amounted to 1.28 billion euros in 2023, representing a two percent increase compared to the previous year. The total value includes the core sectors of the music industry—live music, copyrights, recordings, and subsidies received by the industry—amounting to 817 million euros, as well as music education, which contributed 466 million euros.
The changes in the music industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were significant, but the shares of the sectors have now returned to levels close to those seen before the pandemic. The growth outlook appears positive, although the exceptional circumstances of the past few years may still cause uncertainty in certain sectors. Altogether, the industry's total value reached 1283 million euros.
The biggest growth was seen in the live music sector, which grew by eight percent compared to the previous year and is now worth 558 million euros. The majority of this, 328 million euros, comes from the private sector, including club and stage performances, concerts, festivals, and other major events. The public sector contributes 230 million euros, encompassing symphony orchestras, the National Opera and Ballet, church music, and military music.
The recording sector grew by four percent, with the total value of its retail sales now estimated at 123 million euros.
Copyright royalties grew by three percent and are now worth 113 million euros.
The amount of public and private support, which had multiplied during the COVID-19 pandemic, has dropped close to pre-pandemic levels and is now valued at 35 million euros.
In total, the value of the core sectors of the music industry in 2023 was 817 million euros.
In addition to the core areas, music education is also included in the overall value of the music industry. The estimated value is based on statistical information from 2022 and 2023 and will be updated retroactively when all statistical data for 2023 becomes available. The estimated value for 2023 is 466 million euros (2022: 465 million euros; 2021: 456 million euros).
The overall value of the Finnish music industry is primarily based on reports published by umbrella organizations within the industry. However, to make the sector values comparable, some revenue streams have been converted into consumer values—that is, the prices paid by consumers for live music events or recordings, and fees paid by music users as royalties, including VAT where applicable.
Payments from one industry sector to another, such as copyright royalties for live music, are included in both sectors, but double-counting has been subtracted from the overall value.
Live music is divided into two categories: the private sector and the public sector. The private sector (328 million euros in 2023) includes clubs, stage performances, concerts, festivals, and other events and was estimated based on the copyright royalties collected by Teosto. These royalties constitute approximately 3.5 percent of overall ticket sales, which account for about 70 percent of the total turnover from live music events. The public sector amounts to 230 million euros (2023) and includes symphony orchestras, opera and ballet, military music, and church music.
The value of the recorded music industry (123 million euros in 2023) is based on statistics for the wholesale value (77 million euros in 2022), provided by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The consumer value (including the retail sales margin and VAT) is estimated to have grown in the same proportion (+4%) as the wholesale value compared to the previous year.
Copyright revenues are collected by the Finnish Composers’ Copyright Society Teosto (84 million euros in 2023), and Gramex – the copyright society for performing artists and producers of phonograms in Finland (26 million euros in 2023). These collections are then distributed to the rights holders of musical works and recordings. Additionally, overall copyright revenues include direct licensing and sheet music sales by the Finnish Music Publishers Association, totaling 7 million euros in 2023. Payments within the sector have been subtracted from the sector’s total value.
Private foundations, together with public sector organizations, provide grants and subsidies to music professionals and organizations, totaling 35 million euros in 2023. Of this, 20 million euros originated from the public sector, mainly through the Arts Promotion Centre Finland and the Ministry of Education and Culture. Additionally, other government sectors and municipalities also contribute to subsidizing the music field. Private support (16 million euros in 2022) includes contributions from major private foundations and the Finnish Music Foundation.
The value of music education has been calculated using the current method for two years. In 2023, key players in music education, as part of the Music Education Vision 2030 project, developed a method for gathering financial data from all levels of music education, from schools to doctoral studies. The overall assessment was based on information about the structure and operators of training, with sub-sectoral data collected using available background information and methods.
At the time of publication of this study, data is reliably available for 2022 and partially available for 2023. Therefore, this study has used some data from the previous year. The data will be updated retrospectively when more recent statistics become available.
According to the new figures, the combined value of music education in 2022 was 465 million euros, with an estimated value of 466 million euros for 2023.
The calculation includes the following areas:
Vocational education and training — turnover data collected from educational institutions
Universities of applied sciences — figures estimated based on funding for music education programs at eight universities of applied sciences
Universities and higher education — data collected from six universities that teach and research music, music education, and musicology
Primary and secondary school — estimate based on the share of music lessons and total education expenditure
Basic education in the arts — data collected from the Finnish National Board of Education's reports
Liberal adult education — estimate based on reports on music lessons in select institutions and the total expenditure of these institutions
Other business — sum based on Statistics Finland's turnover data; the share of music was estimated by previous research