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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

#111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same with software, books and manga and video games I think. The only digitalized industry where indies still don't really have a place is tv/movies

Outside narrative driven / sports / blue planet level stuff, isn’t a huge part of TV just YouTube/Podcasts/etc now? Curation and everything built in. I was led to a oddly human travel show and watched it go from a few thousand to millions of subscribers over the past couple years, they were recently on the Ukrainian / Russian border the day before the invasion talking to locals and ended up leaving on a refugee train…

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

#112
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.

Chance the Rapper won 3 Grammys without ever working with a major label

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

#113
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…

And 99.9% of artists still won’t get paid squat.

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

#114
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're giving them far too much credit. They're still very much trying to figure out the Napster era, as to this day they are suing pirates left and right because they genuinely see that 0.01% of the market as a threat to their security.

What do you mean by pirates? RIAA is suing the distributors and creators of pirated content. They are not suing individual pirates much at all. You said “to this day…left and right” which indicates your average person as that was the most know thing they were doing before in the 00s. That’s not true any more.[0] 0. https://jolt.richmond.edu/2018/03/15/has-the-riaa-given-up-o...

They sue pirates where the LTV of the litigation is greater than the CAC.

So, they tend to go after businesses with predictable and large incomes, that are dependent on music, to varying degrees, for generating that income.

Peloton, for example, were sued into a royalty contract with the major labels [1]. It's a fun coincidence that their new CEO is the former Netflix and Spotify CFO.

Spotify wasn't sued, because their predecessors were sued into a merger [2][3]. Instead, they acquiesced [4]. The LTV:CAC ratio on this customer was super high.

[1]: https://exploration.io/exploration-weekly-peloton-and-nmpa-s...

[2]: https://www.wired.com/2000/04/riaa-wins-suit-against-mp3-com...

[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMG_Recordings,_Inc._v._MP3.co....

[4]: https://www.theverge.com/2015/5/19/8621581/sony-music-spotif...

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

#115
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By getting paid for it?

By using music/art as promotional material to sell tickets to your live shows.

I've listened to hundreds of artists in my life. Been to maybe 3 concerts. I don't like the environment; I'm a bedroom listener at heart. There's no reason why I should have to attend a concert or buy a hoodie to support music I enjoy. Just sell me the music.

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

#116
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…

I would be interested to hear your non-editorialized argument without the symbolism.

YouTube is a precursor to TikTok and for the most part offers the same functionality (organizing and distributing media to billions of people). YouTube has existed for 17 years and is not lacking in uploads by talented musicians, singers, and bands. Since the two companies are not that different and both serve billions of people, there's already 17 years of proof against your argument. Also, Justin Bieber would not exist without the record labels. He very likely would have faded out of the consciousness of the masses a few years after his e-fame.

>The music industry is growing because independent musicians are finally figuring out how to navigate it without any need for those traditional industry services.

Uploading music to YouTube or TikTok is not "navigating" the industry. As easy as it is to upload content, it's just as easy to be forgotten. There's countless other people competing for eyeballs on those platforms.

The record labels provide administrative resources, recording/audio engineering, distribution/merchandise, legal, booking/touring, management, public relations, industry contacts, and probably more. Tackling that workload (if popular) without outside support does not seem possible.

Also, the record labels exist to serve the masses. They always have, and always will. I don't see a huge demand for the style of music independent artists create. If there was such a demand, the record labels would capture it. They exist to make a profit, and aren't dumb. They don't hold the little guy back, it's the little guy who doesn't understand they are competing in a (wrong) market that isn't interested in their product.

I grew up hating the RIAA. I used to spend time reading articles about how awful the RIAA was as a budding musician. Now that I'm older, I'm sad to see what they represent disappear. They were the foundation that the pinnacle of American culture was built off of in the 60s-90s. Their gate offered quality at the cost of quantity. What's happening now, IMO, is that the market is dividing more and more every year. More bands that fulfill the needs of fewer people. This trend is not sustainable in the long run, especially for the musicians.

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

#117
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like a problem associated with how money is apportioned out by the streaming services. As I understand it, they basically throw all the user money into a big pot, and throw all the streams into a big pot, and then apportion it out that way. However, the problem with that is, if I don't listen to Taylor Swift at all, why is a portion of my subscription fee going to her? If, say, $10 per month of the money I…

Money is fungible. If you do $5 worth of streaming OBX's music, they'll get $5. Whether that gets transferred directly from your personal Spotify account into theirs, or initially put into a "big pot" and then the same amount is given to them, what does it matter? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your issue?

https://www.deezer.com/us/ucps explains it.

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

#118
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible this method was doable for them without the backing of bigger money because it's sort of novel? If everyone starts live streaming reddit and tiktok, what will make certain groups stand out versus others? I would guess there would be an opportunity for paid promotion, maybe by Reddit or TikTok themselves.

That's an argument which could be made for any market or industry. There are obviously a finite amount of people in the world, and those people have a finite amount of time to find and listen to music, so there is always competition and certain artists are going to stand out among others -- that's the nature of human preference. But that doesn't automatically mean a few are successful and everyone else fails. It's a…

But the argument is valid for most hit-based markets/industries, isn't it?

It seems like many markets and industries are initially dominated by indie, creator-driven work, but then gradually as they mature and become more commodified, agencies and corporations start to dominate. Look at YouTube-style streaming, or digital game distribution.

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

#119

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…

Where can you buy (drm free) music these days? After google play shut down, I haven’t known where to go

Aren't all music stores DRM free these days? I personally use Amazon, but iTunes or... hmm, you're right, a lot of the big name digital music stores have now shut down.

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

#120
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like a problem associated with how money is apportioned out by the streaming services. As I understand it, they basically throw all the user money into a big pot, and throw all the streams into a big pot, and then apportion it out that way. However, the problem with that is, if I don't listen to Taylor Swift at all, why is a portion of my subscription fee going to her? If, say, $10 per month of the money I…

Money is fungible. If you do $5 worth of streaming OBX's music, they'll get $5. Whether that gets transferred directly from your personal Spotify account into theirs, or initially put into a "big pot" and then the same amount is given to them, what does it matter? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your issue?

The argument as I understand it is: Basic Alice streams the top 40 for 9 hours and pays $5, and Hipster Bob streams a band you haven't heard of for 1 hour and pays $5. Band you haven't heard of was responsible for $5 of revenue, but they only get $1 because they were only responsible for 1/10th of the streaming time.
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