After reading the 2017 IFPI Annual Report I was genuinely surprised at the wealth of information that I learned about the music industry. I was surprised by how much the industry has embraced technology, which is now predominantly digital, without fearing the change that comes with leaving physical music behind. It was interesting that physical music sales have decreased by 5.4% but vinyl sales have grown 22.3% in the last year showing that physical media isn’t entirely dead and there is still a strong niche market available. However, I believe the future of the music industry will be almost all digital with priority being placed on internet streaming services due to the fact that digital music makes up over half of the total industry revenue worldwide. People seem to care less about owning their music and more about having instant access to it, especially when the rights are digital and cannot be seen. Physical media will still be sold but in countries where focus in placed on owning the product like Japan (72% market share) or Germany (43% market share). Technology will continue to advance with voice control being developed to the point where music can be queued by voice. A more personalized social media music presence will emerge with more user generated work being posted on platforms. Latin America and Asian countries will see a rise in popularity not just in their demographic but worldwide. Contracts between labels will be more individualized to the artist with an emphasis being placed across the entire industry for fairly compensated work. The value gap will need to be addressed and solutions could start in Europe with legislative work already being set in motion for fair licensing across all platforms. Laws on copyright liability will need to set in place so that acts of illegal stream ripping can be reduced to zero. Youtube is primarily one of the biggest platforms that works against the music industry by not claiming liability over the content being posted to their website. Overall, the future of the music industry is a bright one that needs more communication between digital platforms to create an ecosystem where music creators can be treated fairly.
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AuthorJames Caspary Archives
January 2019
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