After years of declining sales, the music industry has seen revenue increases the past few years thanks to growth in streaming. Do you think the industry has finally found a way to adapt to the changes in ways people consume music? Do you think that revenue will continue to increase, flatten, or decline in the coming years? Limit: 7 responses
Ashley Shankar
ReplyDeleteThe growth in streaming has contributed to the increase in revenue sales for the music industry. I believe the industry has found ways to adapt to the changes in the ways people consume music. I also believe that revenue will continue to increase in the coming years.
The article, “Streaming Music Made Up 83 Percent of the Record Industry's Revenue In 2020” states, “According to the Recording Industry Association of America’s annual year-end report, overall recorded music revenue increased by 9.2 percent to $12.2 billion in 2020. That growth was primarily sustained by more money coming from streaming services, with the format generating $10.1 billion in revenue in 2020, up from $8.9 billion in 2019. 2020 marked the fifth consecutive year of growth on that front.” Since the pandemic left everyone trapped in their homes with nowhere to go, streaming was the most convenient option to listen to music. This has caused an increase in music revenue as well. People weren't able to go to concerts, buy CDs or participate in any musical festivals and therefore streaming was the best option. I think the music industry has adapted perfectly with streaming during the pandemic allowing people to consume music conveniently from the safety of their homes.
The article, “The Song Streams Remain The Same”, states, “Another factor limiting music streaming, for now, is the lack of commuting, with most offices still closed.” and “When artists resume touring and re- leasing albums to drive ticket sales, music streaming could still return to growth.” I believe the revenue for the music industry will increase. This is because right now we are in the process of trying to get back to normal. In the process, more people will be commuting, going back to work, attending music events and therefore I believe this will increase the music industry even more as people get back to their routines with more music streaming. In addition, with things going back to normal more artists will want to release music and go on tour. Everyone who was streaming during the pandemic and perhaps exploring new music might want to see the artists who helped them throughout the pandemic and listen to their new content. As a result, driving the music industry’s revenue in the coming years.
Lastly, the article, “The Future of Music: Where It Is Today & Where It’s Going In The Next Decade”, states “Our new AI-driven home assistants – friends like Alexa and Siri – make our enjoyment easier and easier. We can sit on our couches and simply call out for the music we want. Another quietly massive new force – wearables – accelerates things further. Earbuds alone already drive billions upon billions of dollars. Apple just reported revenues of $10.1 billion from its wearables unit, with Air Pods sales leading the way. Bose Audio Sunglasses are another new form factor that points the way.” I believe that the music industry and other industries have worked well together to adapt and make listening more convenient. For example, products like Alexa or Airpods allow people to listen wherever and whenever they desire which is convenient and drives music streaming. In addition, as technology advances like the creation of the Bose Audio Sunglasses, I believe these adaptations will also help increase the music industry revenue in the coming years.
Works cited
Bonifacic, Igor. “Streaming Music Made up 83 Percent of the Record Industry's Revenue in 2020.” Engadget, 26 Feb. 2021, www.engadget.com/riaa-music-revenue-report-2020-204907874.html.
Csathy, Peter. “The Future Of Music: Where It Is Today & Where It's Going In The Next Decade.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 18 Feb. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/petercsathy/2020/02/02/the-future-of-music-where-it-is-today--where-its-going-in-the-next-decade/?sh=118139d7707e.
Page, Will. "The Song Streams Remain the Same." Billboard 19 Dec. 2020.
Fiona Doull
ReplyDeleteBlog 5, Question 1
Part 1 -
Although the music industry was on a decline, streaming services have lifted the music industry in a new way. It may seem that COVID-19 was detrimental to many industries, including some aspects of the music industry but not all. The pandemic prevented live shows but it still found ways to grow, especially in terms of streaming. Music revenue raised 9.2% in 2020 with Apple Music and Spotify acting as the two largest contributors (Bonifacic). Music streaming service subscribers have had an increase by 11 million payer users from January to September of 2020, reaching a total of 117.9 million (Page). The offering of music in addition to podcasts for a monthly premium cost is continuing to push streaming services towards success.
I believe that the music industry has found a way to adapt to the changes in regards to how people consume music. As streaming services are seemingly exponentially growing, they provide a user-friendly and relatively affordable option to listen to unlimited music and podcasts. The pandemic has also assisted in this, people who are now staying home far more often and they want something to listen to. Streaming services also keep finding ways to elevate themselves. Some examples include Apple Music’s partnership with flagship radio Beats 1 and Spotify’s collaboration with Archwell Audio, a multi-million deal they have made with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Jarvey).
In my opinion, I believe that this revenue will continue to increase. Streaming now makes up 83% of the industry’s total revenue, however, it is not always known where that money is ending up (Bonifacic). One problem that the world of streaming faces is the idea that the streaming service model lends to highly successful big acts. It does not cater to small or independent artists. A lot of the money made from streaming services is ending up with those bigger acts and the article “Streaming Music Made up 83% of the Record Industry’s Revenue in 2020” explains that it is often unknown where all of the money from streaming services is ending up (Bonifacic). One attempt to combat this issue is Square’s majority stake in the streaming service Tidal, purchased by Jay-Z (Jarvey). Jay-Z purchased Tidal to give artists more control over the distribution of their music (Jarvey) Although this is a fault in the streaming service side of the music industry, it has more positives than negatives.
Part 2 -
DeleteAnother aspect that I believe will further the increase in revenue among the music industry is the idea of live shows and concerts. Another impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is that live shows are impossible to have. Live Nation reportedly sunk 84% in 2020 but there is hope for the future (Speer). The COVID vaccine as well as the continuation of lifted restrictions occurring lead many to be optimistic about the future of live music and the idea of a huge comeback for the live music industry (Speer). Many expect outdoor concerts to roll out this summer in a safe way, and then the industry will expand from there. However, in the article “If the U.S. Can Get Vaccinated by Summer, Do We Get Concerts Back?” Ethan Millman, explains that most large-scale concerts and tours cannot return until 2022. Even though President Joe Biden said that America will have enough COVID-19 vaccines for every adult by the end of May, it is unknown whether there can be a full return to indoor and outdoor shows (Millman). Although there is a lot of enthusiasm from fans, “a high-density indoor audience and complicated group logistics cannot be profitable unless the whole system whirls up at once”; one super-spreader is all it would take to put everyone in jeopardy (Millman). There is currently a huge demand for live music and the industry will boom post-pandemic. This in combination with streaming services allows a promising future for the music industry.
Work Cited:
Bonifacic, I. "Streaming Music Made Up 83 Percent of the Record Industry's Revenue In 2020," Engadget 26 Feb. 2021, https://www.engadget.com/riaa-music-revenue-report-2020-204907874.html
Jarvey, Natalie. "Square Acquires Majority Stake in Jay-Z's Tidal for $297 Million." The Hollywood Reporter 4 March 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/square-acquires-majority-stake-in-jay-zs-tidal-for-297-million
Millman, Ethan. “If the U.S. Can Get Vaccinated by Summer, When Do We Get Concerts Back?” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2021, www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/vaccine-concerts-live-music-2021-1131665/.
Page, Will. "The Song Streams Remain the Same." Billboard 19 Dec. 2020.
Spangler, Todd. "Spotify Hits 155 Million Paid Subscribers in Q4, Says Podcast Listening Nearly Doubled." Variety 3 Feb. 2021, https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/spotify-q4-2020-results-podcast-1234899086/
Speer, Deborah. "Live Nation Revenue Sinks 84% In 2020, But Vaccine And Pent-Up Fan Demand Raise Hopes." Pollstar 26 Feb. 2021, https://www.pollstar.com/article/live-nation-revenue-sinks-84-in-2020-but-vaccine-and-pent-up-fan-demand-raise-hopes-147429
Nick Melanson
ReplyDeleteAfter years of declining sales, the music industry has seen revenue increase over the past few years. While there are numerous new names in the music industry, the biggest reason that this downward trend was reversed was because of the growth of streaming.
I absolutely believe that the music industry has found a way to adapt to the changes in ways that people consume music. With the decline of CD sales, the music industry began to suffer greatly. Per Sundin, who was the former head of Universal Music’s Nordic Operation, recalled firing over 250 people due to the music industry bleeding for money. In order to combat this and protect their interests, record industries would go after teenagers who would illegally download their content, which would not only cost a lot of money, but would also make record companies look evil in the eyes of the youth who were simply trying to listen to music. At one point, record companies even “worked with the animator Aardman to create a free iPhone game called Music Inc, where you attempt to manage a band, but always fail because of online piracy” (Wolfson, The Guardian). The music industry was losing money and was turning away millions of music listeners.
Between 1999 and 2009, the music industry’s annual revenue fell over $8 billion (Wolfson, The Guardian). Then, in 2015, Universal Music Group recorded revenues of over $5 billion, with nearly $1 billion coming from streaming alone. The industry had changed. Between 2017 and 2018, we saw nearly 100 million new streaming service accounts (Statista). Music companies began to notice, and they began to give in. In 2017, “streaming music revenues had surpassed income from traditional formats for the first time” (Wolfson, The Guardian). Labels experienced a nearly 11% rise, and in one-year, British music company’s saw a 45% increase in year over subscription streaming. The music industry had finally found a way to adapt to the changes in how people consume music, and it was bringing in massive profits.
I believe that the industry will continue to grow in the coming years, and a lot of it has to do with COVID. With the return of live concerts, I expect artists to be raking in huge amounts of money as the world clamors for some return to normalcy, especially with concerts. The Super Bowl halftime show for example had been steadily declining in viewership, but this year the event saw a year over increase in viewership for the first time in three years. Part is this is likely due to the desire to watch a live music performance again due to COVID shutting everything done. As the world begins to open up and musicians begin to go on tour again and market their music, I fully believe that the music industry will continue to grow at the rate that we have seen over the last few years.
“Global Streaming Music Subscribers 2020.” Statista, Statista Research Department, 8 Jan. 2021, www.statista.com/statistics/669113/number-music-streaming-subscribers/.
Gough, Christina. “Viewers of the Super Bowl Halftime Show in the U.S. 2020.” Statista, 9 Mar. 2021, www.statista.com/statistics/1132847/super-bowl-halftime-show-viewers/.
Wolfson, Sam. “'We've Got More Money Swirling around': How Streaming Saved the Music Industry.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 Apr. 2018, www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/24/weve-got-more-money-swirling-around-how-streaming-saved-the-music-industry.
Jack Higgins
ReplyDeleteThe music industry has seen an extreme success with streaming in recent years. Even in a year where many artists couldn’t tour due to the pandemic, revenue was still being brought in from streaming. The article from Engadget gives perspective into this growth, “music revenue increased by 9.2 percent to $12.2 billion in 2020” (Bonifacic). The major streaming platforms (Spotify and Apple Music) contributed most to that total as they saw an increase in US subscriptions. These services were especially sought after in this year to due to restrictions of live shows, but even without that context, the streaming services have created a platform that is very effective and accessible. The current model of a subscription based streaming service is way more effective than purchasing individual songs or albums. As someone who used to use the iTunes store to purchase individual songs and albums, streaming is significant better and more effective. Seeing how accessible streaming music is to anyone, it is hard to see any other part of the industry over taking the amount of revenue brought in. Streaming will continue to dominate the share of the industry’s total revenue brought in.
Another contributing factor to streaming success was “streaming trends” in 2020. An article from Spotify explains, “As people started to social distance, we saw an increase in nostalgia-themed playlists and work-from-home-themed playlists” (Spotify Newsroom). This shows how the pandemic created a perfect environment for streaming platforms to thrive as people were stuck inside a lot. However, I believe that there will be continued success after the pandemic, and this was just a great opportunity to introduce people to the platform which they will continue to use post pandemic. A report from Grand View Research predicts how the future will look for this service, “Market size was valued at USD 20.9 billion in 2019 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 17.8% from 2020 to 2027” (Grand View Research). Streaming services will capitalize on the opportunities that the pandemic provided them.
Bonifacic, I. "Streaming Music Made Up 83 Percent of the Record Industry's Revenue In 2020," Engadget 26 Feb. 2021,
Music Streaming Market Size & Share Report, 2020-2027, www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/music-streaming-market.
"The Trends That Shaped Streaming in 2020." Spotify Newsroom 1 Dec. 2021,
Gina Auletta
ReplyDeletePart One
The music industry has seen revenue increases throughout the past few years due to the growth in streaming. I think the industry has found a way to adapt to the changes in ways people consume music and revenue will continue to increase in the coming years. The growth in streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic is a great example of how the music industry adapts to changes in consumption and how it will likely continue to adapt in the future. During the pandemic, people could no longer support their favorite artists by attending live shows and events, so they turned to streaming services to listen more frequently. In the article, “Streaming Music Made Up 83 Percent of the Record Industry’s Revenue In 2020”, Igor Bonifacic states, “According to the Recording Industry Association of America’s annual year-end report, overall recorded music revenue increased by 9.2 percent to $12.2 billion in 2020. That growth was primarily sustained by more money coming from streaming services, with the format generating $10.1 billion in revenue in 2020, up from $8.9 billion in 2019.” In other words, streaming contributed immensely to the increase in revenue in the music industry despite all of the hardships in 2020. On top of this, Bonifacic explains that the average number of subscriptions in the United States also increased from 60.4 million to 75.5 million in 2020. Clearly, evidence shows that the music industry has found a way to adapt to sudden changes in the way people consume music.
Gina Auletta
DeletePart Two
I believe that revenue will continue to increase in the coming years because the music industry is constantly launching new products and ideas to keep listeners coming back even when they cannot leave their homes. For example, in the article “Apple Launches Apple Music Radio with a Rebranded Beats 1, Plus Two More Stations”, Sarah Perez discusses Apple’s rebranding of its radio station Beats 1 – now Apple Music 1. This revamp offers artist interviews, global exclusives and premieres, and other breaking music news which allows consumers to get an insider perspective on their favorite artists. Additionally, the radio aspect of Apple Music 1 caters to people who do not want to think about what song to play or have to dig around a playlist, instead, they can just turn on the music (Perez). The launch of Apple Music 1 is just one example of the countless new technologies that the industry releases throughout the years to keep up with the changing times and changing consumer needs. As Olivia Schusser, vice president of Apple Music, Beats, and International Content says, “Apple Music radio provides an unparalleled global platform for artists across all genres to talk about, create, and share music with their fans, and this is just the beginning.” In the article, “10 Ways The Music Industry Will Change In 10 Years”, Adam Aziz suggests that virtual reality may even become a viable tool in the industry. For example, The Gorillaz released a virtual reality music video and festivals like Coachella have released immersive experiences for fans. All in all, with new technology being released year after year, the music industry has plenty of avenues to explore in order to keep up with changing ways and will likely continue to bring in revenue in the coming years.
Works Cited
Aziz, Adam. “10 Ways The Music Industry Will Change In 10 Years.” VIBE.com, 31 Mar. 2019, www.vibe.com/lists/10-ways-music-industry-changes-10-years/vr-will-be-a-viable-tool-in-the-music-industry/.
Bonifacic, I. "Streaming Music Made Up 83 Percent of the Record Industry's Revenue In 2020," Engadget 26 Feb. 2021
Perez, Sarah. "Apple Launches Apple Music Radio with a Rebranded Beats 1, Plus Two More Stations." Tech Crunch 18 Aug. 2020
Gianna Petruccelli
ReplyDeleteIt is no surprise that with the boost in streaming, the music industry has found an increase in revenue. In an article called "Streaming music made up 83 percent of the record industry's revenue in 2020", the author states that the overall recorded music revenue increased by 9.2%, raking in about $12.2 billion by the end of 2020 (Bonifacic). Being that this sudden growth in revenue is due to the recent boost in streaming services, I do believe that the industry has found a way to adapt to all the different ways people listen to music. When using services like Spotify or Apple Music, listeners are able to create different playlists, listen to full albums at a time, choose specific songs that they want to listen to, and can even tune in to their friends playlists, creating various different ways to listen to music. This, coupled with the fact that sales in CDs and digital downloads are continuing to decline, I do believe that the industry has found a way to adapt to the changes in ways people listen to music. Furthermore, the pandemic left everyone trapped in their houses. With the world-wide isolation, no one was able to go to concerts or listen to music live. This left many people turning to streaming services to listen to music. In an article called “Apple Launches Apple Music Radio with a rebranded Beats 1, plus two more stations” author Sarah Perez explains the new changes to Apple Music. The article states “Starting today, its flagship radio station Beats 1 will be rebranded to Apple Music 1 — a change that more closely associates the station with Apple’s subscription-based streaming music service, Apple Music. In addition, the company is launching two more radio stations: Apple Music Hits, featuring top songs from the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, and Apple Music Country, focused on country music” (Perez). Because Apple Music is doing this, I feel that revenue will continue to increase, because services like Apple Music are keeping up with the wants and need of their subscribers. This is an attempt at keeping Apple Music above other streaming services like Spotify. Since this is such a competitive industry, I do predict that revenue will continue to grow. With all of these services in competition with each other and constantly rebranding themselves, more and more people will want to subscribe. Furthermore, in an article called “The State of the Music Industry in 2020”, author Jimmy Stone states that streaming is driving the growth of the music industry. “The convenience and personalization of music streaming, combined with the accessibility afforded by smartphones and smart devices, has driven recorded music’s growth. IFPI notes that global streaming revenues grew at a 42% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) since 2015, compared to the entire recording industry’s 9% CAGR” (Stone). It is obvious that streaming music is extremely convenient. Luckily, after the pandemic society has been exposed to a world that operates mostly on convince. Because of this, I do believe revenue will continue to increase.
Works Cited
Bonifacic, I. "Streaming Music Made Up 83 Percent of the Record Industry's Revenue In 2020," Engadget 26 Feb. 2021
Perez, Sarah. "Apple Launches Apple Music Radio with a Rebranded Beats 1, Plus Two More Stations." Tech Crunch 18 Aug. 2020
Stone, Jimmy. “The State of the Music Industry in 2020.” Toptal Finance Blog, Toptal, 6 Oct. 2020, www.toptal.com/finance/market-research-analysts/state-of-music-industry.