Our core functions as an organisation fall into the following areas:

Legal Policy & Litigation

  • The legal policy and litigation teams coordinate our work for effective legal protection in all music markets and drive a global litigation strategy designed to disrupt and close down pirate services.
  • The legal policy team campaigns to secure better rights in those markets worldwide which are not up to international best practice. This includes worldwide recognition of full performance rights and the minimum 70-year term of protection for recorded music. It also informs IFPI’s voice in the copyright debate, promoting the role of copyright in supporting investment in music and licensing of digital music services.
  • The litigation team supports criminal prosecutions by public authorities, brings civil cases against businesses that facilitate infringement and works with intermediaries, such as ISPs and search engines, to tackle infringing sites and reduce piracy.

Sales Reporting

  • IFPI's Sales Reporting team are responsible for producing all global recorded music industry sales statistics, tracking over 50 markets worldwide by working closely with member companies, National Groups, and industry partners.
  • The team is responsible for the data contained within IFPI's authoritative Global Music Report, the definitive source of recorded music market data.
  • The Sales Reporting team produce valuable global market share and market size reports to its stakeholders in the IFPI Market Analysis Portal ('MAP'); continuously working on standardisation and consistency in reporting of global industry revenues.
  • The team is also responsible for the production of the IFPI Annual Global Charts, and other valuable industry metrics such as global streaming subscribers.

Insight and analysis

  • IFPI's Insight and Analysis team works closely with member companies, National Groups, and industry partners to provide research and insight into patterns and methods of music consumption worldwide. This includes study of the recorded music market, developments in both licensed and unlicensed consumption, and the changing habits of music listeners.
  • As the music industry drives the transition from physical to digital consumption, the Insight and Analysis department seeks to understand the changing landscape as it is found globally, within different countries, and across the enormous variety of music consumers.
  • The team is responsible for the analysis contained within IFPI’s authoritative Global Music Report, the definitive source of recorded music market data.

Performance rights

  • The IFPI global performance rights team works to grow performance rights revenues for record producers worldwide through:
  • Securing full performance rights in countries where they do not yet exist.
  • Setting up new music licensing companies (MLCs) to manage and collectively license performance rights in emerging markets, including in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
  • Improving the operation of the existing MLCs through identifying and implementing best practices.
  • Securing fair tariffs for the broadcasting and public performance of sound recordings.

Anti-piracy

  • A global team that supports member companies in all anti-piracy activities. Delivers 24/7 pre-release monitoring; a high volume notice and takedown programme, underpinned by a technical investigations resource to help establish the source of leaks.
  • Devises pioneering programmes to disrupt revenue streams to illegal online services, including working with enforcement agencies, payment providers and advertisers.
  • Tackles the continuing problem of physical format piracy.
  • Develops strategies and tools to tackle emerging forms of piracy.

International trade

  • IFPI’s trade team follows intergovernmental trade negotiations to help spread best practice in terms of protecting intellectual property rights.
  • Works to ensure that countries improve their mechanisms for copyright enforcement or change other regulatory conditions.

Technology

  • Manages the global implementation of the International Standard Recording Code, the key identifier for recordings on digital services such as iTunes
  • Works with the worldwide industry and technology partners on digital infrastructure such as DDEX, database initiatives and audio recognition
  • Technology insight, working with members, national groups and MLCs across all areas of digital music and related technology

Communications

  • Advises and supports National Groups and members in a wide range of campaigns and projects.
  • The Communications team produces high quality public information materials to support all the organisation’s key activities.

IFPI offices

  • IFPI’s European office coordinates the industry's advocacy at EU level on the key issues affecting the business environment its members operate in. These include protection of copyright, enforcement, licensing, online regulatory issues and international trade.
  • IFPI’s Asian Regional Office covers markets across the continent. The team also works with the organisation’s representative office in Beijing to campaign to improve the legislative environment in China and open up the world’s second largest economy as a leading recorded music market.
  • IFPI’s Latin American office spearheads the industry’s activities across the region. Its longstanding efforts to improve the operations of music licensing companies have helped deliver a dramatic increase in performance rights revenues over recent years.
    For more information in Spanish about this region, please visit www.ifpilatina.org

Explore more About us

  • Our World

    Find where IFPI and our industry affiliates operate globally

  • Our People

    IFPI’s senior executives

  • Our Chairman

    Plácido Domingo became honorary chairman of IFPI in July 2011