Irish music rights body IMRO shares out €23.2m

This follows the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), which collects royalties on behalf of artists, confirming that licence revenues last year fell 2% to €28m from €28.65m

The IMRO directors’ report says that a reduction in revenues from public performance, specifically large concert revenues, contributed largely to the decrease.

The amount in royalties paid out to artists fell 4.7% to €23.2m from €24.4m in the previous year.

IMRO, a not-for-profit organisation has 10,500 members.

Last year, its surplus after paying out royalties amounted to €187,451. That is up from a surplus of €67,664 it posted in the previous year.

The royalties received from IMRO are often the sole income received by non-performing song writers.

IMRO generates its royalties from a broad range of sources, including music played to phone callers when put on hold.

It also generates a small portion of its total revenues at the 3 Arena in Dublin.

For example, many companies are charged an annual tariff of between €96 and €198 for playing music on multiple lines for on-hold callers.

Doctors and dentists face an annual tariff of between €70 to €158 playing recorded music in their waiting rooms.

And retailers face charges starting at €144. IMRO imposes a tariff of €2,354 for shops with floor space of between 9,000 sq m and 10,000 sq m.

Numbers employed by IMRO last year increased to 52 from 50. Staff costs increased to €3.22m from €3.1m.

Total pay for IMRO’s directors rose to €219,098 from €203,146.

The board is made up of 15 directors, including recording artists Mick Hanly, Eleanor McEvoy, and Charlie McGettigan.

A note attached to the accounts show that royalties paid by the organisation to directors of IMRO and to parties related to them amounted to €227,887.

The figures show that IMRO recorded a €2.9m surplus following the revaluation of IMRO’s Copyright House property in Dublin 2 that was revalued at €4.95m at the end of December last year.

A note attached to the accounts says that “the valuation report highlighted the current economic environment and the recent improvements in commercial property valuations”.