Updated news on the Global music industry
A great news item has been posted on the BBC website giving an up to date overview of theWorld music industry. It makes interesting reading. Here are some of the key points:
> British artists including Adele, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran have helped the music industry return to meaningful growth for the first time in almost 20 years.
> British artists accounted for five of the top 10 selling albums last year, as the global music industry generated $15bn (£10.5bn).
> Overall, revenues grew 3.2%, reversing a 0.4% decline in 2014.
> Digital music overtook physical records as the primary source of income for the first time. Downloads and streaming accounted for 45% of revenue, ahead of CD and vinyl on 39%.
> After years of uncertainty and confusion over digital music, streaming appears to have rescued the industry from decades of decline with an estimated 68 million people worldwide now pay for a music subscription service, up from 41 million in 2014.
> Helped by the spread of smartphones and a proliferation of services – including Spotify, Deezer, Tidal and Apple Music – streaming now represents 19% of the music industry’s income, up from 14% in 2014. The figures helped offset declines in both digital downloads and physical sales.
> However, the music market is still worth significantly less than at the turn of the millennium, when revenues were $27.8bn (£19.4bn).
> There is a growing popularity of music being streamed on services supported by advertisements, such as YouTube, SoundCloud and Daily Motion. They can claim exemption from normal rules about licensing when content is uploaded by users. Reported 900 million users generating only 4% of revenues. In response, YouTube’s parent company, Google, said it was paying its way.
To read the full article, click here