Swiss music industry roars back with 80% growth in a decade
An Industry in Flux: From Cassettes to AI-Generated Hits
First came cassettes, vinyl records, and CDs, then downloads, streaming—and now, increasingly, AI-generated songs. Over the past few decades, the music industry has undergone radical transformation, reinventing itself time and again. Against this backdrop, musicians and songwriters in Switzerland are finding it harder to make ends meet, even as the sector reports rising revenues.
The Numbers Last year, the Swiss music industry generated CHF 259 million in sales from recorded music, a nearly 4% increase over the previous year, according to figures from the industry association IFPI Switzerland. Concert revenues are not included in this total. While growth in recorded music sales has slowed compared to previous years, the association remains optimistic. "The music industry has proven remarkably resilient and strengthened its role as a pioneer in the cultural sector's technological evolution," said Lorenz Haas, Managing Director of IFPI Switzerland, in a press statement.
A Rollercoaster Ride The Swiss music industry reached its peak in 1995, with sales of nearly CHF 379 million—a time when expensive CDs dominated the market, delivering lucrative profits for major labels. Bryan Adams topped the charts. But then came disruption. As digital music took over, sales plummeted, and piracy devastated the business, hitting rock bottom in 2015 with revenues of just under CHF 145 million. Since then, the industry has rebounded, with sales increasing by nearly 80% over the past decade.
Streaming Dominates Though the music industry initially resisted digital formats, it ultimately had no choice but to strike deals with major streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Today, streaming accounts for 92% of industry revenues. Vinyl records, meanwhile, have seen a resurgence, generating over CHF 5 million in sales—the highest figures since 1991, driven in part by nostalgia.
AI Songs as Competition Now, the industry faces another major challenge: a wave of AI-generated music, with amateurs using technology to replicate existing songs. Rather than confronting the issue head-on as in the past, the sector is seeking solutions to ensure musicians and songwriters are compensated when their work is used in AI-generated tracks.
AI as an Opportunity"For about a year now, numerous music labels have begun negotiating licensing agreements for AI usage," IFPI reports. Licensing music for AI not only opens up new revenue streams for artists but also protects them from misuse. A new legal framework is currently being developed, giving established artists—whose voices and works are often copied in AI songs—stronger tools to defend their rights as the industry establishes clearer rules.
