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Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

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Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#11

Post by 8bitbuddhist »

ProfessorLayton wrote: post #2

I am having a hell of a time adjusting to a streaming-focused music world. On one hand, I love having access to pretty much all the music I want, and have discovered a lot of new artists (through no help of the apps themselves, however). On the other hand, having my library randomly switch on me with songs disappearing, album covers swapping out or renamed is driving me NUTS. Not to mention the general buggyness that…

This is why I host my own personal streaming service. I'll buy music, copy the files to my server, and use Airsonic to stream it to my laptop, phone, etc. It's a lot more work, but I'd rather have full control than use something like YouTube Music, where I can only hope that the songs I like don't get pulled or the service itself doesn't get shut down.

Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#12

Post by birdyrooster »

Art is best when it's unpaid. I don't want you paying me for my music and I won't pay for yours. I am tired of corporate rent seeking in the art space. Yes this is historical for art of all kinds, but I think that was to the detriment of art rather than its benefit. The talent of artists has been used to ingratiate and inflate the perception of some truly awful people and ideas.

Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#13

Post by digitalnomad91 »

ProfessorLayton wrote: post #2

I am having a hell of a time adjusting to a streaming-focused music world. On one hand, I love having access to pretty much all the music I want, and have discovered a lot of new artists (through no help of the apps themselves, however). On the other hand, having my library randomly switch on me with songs disappearing, album covers swapping out or renamed is driving me NUTS. Not to mention the general buggyness that…

You can use youtube-dl-gui to grab mp3's from many different platforms.

I also grab mp3's using ymusic and a hacked pandora app on my phone. I miss the days of what, waffle, and oink though. Still haven't gotten into orpheus yet.

Also op above is right, bandcamp is awesome.

Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#14

Post by LegitShady »

BaseballPhysics wrote: post #9
candiddevmike wrote: post #4

Doesn't say how much the actual artists are seeing of this growth, and how spread out it is. These streaming services make it really hard for smaller artists to stand out, almost everyone uses the services "radio" equivalent which seems to play a very narrow scope of similar artists (mostly more well known). Basically it seems like it's easier than ever to become a musician with global reach/fans but harder than ever…

Yup. Listen to any smaller artist and they'll tell you streaming services are only good for exposure and the real money is in ticket sales, swag, and physical and digital sales to buying customers.

I feel like this was true before streaming as well. smaller artists would say 'the label takes so much of the record sales, touring/swag is where I make money'

Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#15

Post by bryans »

The self-congratulatory nature of the article and quotes actually betray a self-reassurance, because in reality, record labels are rapidly becoming irrelevant. They're scrambling to figure out how they fit into the TikTok era, where artists no longer require years of financial incubation to succeed. The music industry is growing because independent musicians are finally figuring out how to navigate it without any need for those traditional industry services. They deserve the credit for (most of) this, because they are working their asses off (including bringing new streaming users to the fold) and getting no recognition whatsoever from industry reporting.

Sometime in the next year or two, we will see the first truly independent music superstars achieve household-name status. Once that veil is broken, then the jig is up and labels are going to be panicking -- if they're not already.

Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#16

Post by BaseballPhysics »

birdyrooster wrote: post #12

Art is best when it's unpaid. I don't want you paying me for my music and I won't pay for yours. I am tired of corporate rent seeking in the art space. Yes this is historical for art of all kinds, but I think that was to the detriment of art rather than its benefit. The talent of artists has been used to ingratiate and inflate the perception of some truly awful people and ideas.

Based.

Okay, fine, I suppose I should actually respond.

The problem with this view is that truly high quality art requires time and attention that few can afford without some level of compensation.

If we lived in a non-capitalist society where people didn't have to work to survive, I might agree with you. Heck, even a basic income could make a life as an artist possible.

But that world doesn't exist.

So your idea would do one thing and one thing only: it would relegate the creation of art to the domain of the wealthy. And that is not a world I'd want to live in.

Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#17

Post by eikenberry »

BaseballPhysics wrote: post #9
candiddevmike wrote: post #4

Doesn't say how much the actual artists are seeing of this growth, and how spread out it is. These streaming services make it really hard for smaller artists to stand out, almost everyone uses the services "radio" equivalent which seems to play a very narrow scope of similar artists (mostly more well known). Basically it seems like it's easier than ever to become a musician with global reach/fans but harder than ever…

Yup. Listen to any smaller artist and they'll tell you streaming services are only good for exposure and the real money is in ticket sales, swag, and physical and digital sales to buying customers.

This is still a major win for smaller artists though as exposure is the main thing they are missing. Pre-streaming/internet they would have only had local scene, fan clubs, etc. They always made all their money via fans buying things. All performing musicians (as opposed to studio musicians) make the majority of their money this way, the recording industry was always primarily a way to get promoted, it was never a good way to make money.

Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#18

Post by BaseballPhysics »

LegitShady wrote: post #14
BaseballPhysics wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. Listen to any smaller artist and they'll tell you streaming services are only good for exposure and the real money is in ticket sales, swag, and physical and digital sales to buying customers.

I feel like this was true before streaming as well. smaller artists would say 'the label takes so much of the record sales, touring/swag is where I make money'

I don't disagree, but streaming services have dramatically exacerbated the problem. Any artist that's been around before and after streaming will tell you that they make far less money, now, than they did when they were selling records, even after their labels and publishers and distributors took a cut.

Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#19

Post by bitwize »

birdyrooster wrote: post #12

Art is best when it's unpaid. I don't want you paying me for my music and I won't pay for yours. I am tired of corporate rent seeking in the art space. Yes this is historical for art of all kinds, but I think that was to the detriment of art rather than its benefit. The talent of artists has been used to ingratiate and inflate the perception of some truly awful people and ideas.

How do you expect artists to keep doing what they do and put food on the table?

Re: Global music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by paid subscription streaming

#20

Post by basisword »

bryans wrote: post #15

The self-congratulatory nature of the article and quotes actually betray a self-reassurance, because in reality, record labels are rapidly becoming irrelevant. They're scrambling to figure out how they fit into the TikTok era, where artists no longer require years of financial incubation to succeed. The music industry is growing because independent musicians are finally figuring out how to navigate it without any nee…

Do you have any evidence of this? People have been saying labels are irrelevant for a decade or two at least now. It's never true. To succeed you need to get noticed and for that you need a marketing budget and the labels provide that. Artists can get much further than before but going viral on TikTok is not a viable career strategy for most artists.
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