The downside of catalog sales; Innovating live music business, and managing hype indicators
Edition 08
Hi folks
Happy Wednesday! Welcome to The Industry Playlist 🎵
This week I dive into why booming catalog sales hurts independent music, live music needs a new culture-forward business model, and what to do about hype indicators.
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I’m all about hyperlocal homegrown dance music scenes emerging outside the non-western geographies. Chronical Deep is a South African producer/DJ taking his sound to the world. Check out Let’s Go Deep by him.
Now, let’s get to it.
SONIC SHIFTS
Booming catalog sales don’t bore well for independent music in the long-run [Streaming] [Biz]
Sony just bought Queen’s catalogue for $1.27Bn. That’s mad. And it’s not just about the music rights anymore, it’s the whole package: brand, likeness. It’s not surprising given the revivalist era we are now witnessing; global music streams comprise 73% of catalog music, new released music is at 27%. Financial activity in the music asset class is ramping up like never before and we are seeing labels increasingly hiring investment bankers in the field.Â
It’s like labels are reinventing themselves as financial asset management companies rather than music companies. You are seeing the rise of companies such as JKBX who let retail investors like you and me to own fractional shares in songs, something akin to buying company shares from a stock exchange.
These mega-deals and financial moves signal a broader consolidation in the industry that could stifle competition, and creativity in the long-run. With a few major players controlling vast swathes of music history, the attention and focus to monetize the past will mean fewer $$ and attention to surface new artists and sound to break out in the future. The independent acts are going to be left fighting for scraps on social media and streaming waiting to ‘make it’.Â
Live music needs a new culture-forward business model  [Live] [Biz] Â
The UK’s live music venues crisis is reaching a boiling point, with an average of two grassroots music venues shutting down due to skyrocketing rents, staffing costs, and financial pressures. It feels like unless you are a big conglomerate with huge financial resources and economies of scale (think Live Nation), you can’t win in this industry today. This problem is not isolated to the UK; similar trends are emerging globally, including in the US and Australia. The consolidation of the industry by major players is exacerbating these challenges, leaving smaller venues and emerging artists struggling to survive.
It’s a cautionary tale for India even though India’s live music scene is truly nascent, and still, independent.Â
Bottomline is it is brain over heart. Live music is always about the heart (and art), and we should be all pushing for that kinda world. But the cards are stacked against that. Which is why a new business models that reignities live music and moves culture forward is much needed.Â
Related: Deep dive into UK’s music festival crisis - the malaise of culture suffering is hitting the festival circuit too.Â
Hype indicators and dysfunctional creative-commercial ecosystem - and what to do about it [Fandom] [Streaming]
MIDiA in its latest report (PDF) asserts that artists are being sold short, and in turn, has created a dysfunctional creative-commercial ecosystem. Their fifth annual survey of global independent music creators, which has in-depth conversations with artists, and secondary research on topics such as career longevity and success, they re-evaluate what success looks like and how it can be measured more holistically for the modern-day music artist. I thought this was a great industry report, worth checking out. Here is a summary.Â
READ THIS SHIT
When Do We Stop Finding New Music? A Statistical Analysis - The pervasive nature of music paralysis across generations suggests that the phenomenon's roots go beyond technology, likely stemming from developmental factors. So what changes as we age, and when does open-eardness decline? This study identifies 33 as the tipping point for sonic stagnation, an age where artistic taste calcifies, increasingly deviating from contemporary works.
What does digital strategy in a user-centric streaming landscape look like? With more changes to streaming coming, both regulation and algo changes, ALPU (average-listening share per-user) is something we will be hearing more about. If you are in A&R, dig deeper in understanding this metric for your artists.Â
Spotify needs to find a path to consistent profitability. Are high res audio and AI playlists really the answer? Spotify is out for the kill. In the recent past it has ramped up every effort to become profitable - reduce costs, increase prices. We’ll be seeing more superpremium features soon (I personally would be open to paying more for superpremium if I get more control over discovery parameters and filters, such as no AI music)
The music industry is working hard to engage disruptive tech companies, but what is the focus beyond that? This is a rant but makes a valid point. Music is becoming like a fast food meal; something you snack on, not something you commit to.
KEEP TRACK OF
MNGRS.AI - This is for artists to get an assistant that would do an Artist Manager’s job. ChatGPT can do stuff they are claiming to do to be honest. But if you are in A&R, it’s a good idea to sign up for this, just to see how your professional field is evolving.Â
INTERESTING STUFF
A moodboard for taste - We are often focused too much on the end result (taste) and not enough on the process (how one develops taste)
That’s all for today. We’ll be back in your inbox next week.
Thanks for reading,
Rohit