High5: In other music news #2

Is radio relevant?

 

Now there's a question we're all going to be confronted with for possibly the next 5-10 years. In my opinion, looking at the latest research, terrestrial radio will slowly but surely lose its top spot to online streaming. For now though, radio is one of the best ways for muscians to get their music heard - it's not easy, given the limited number of radio stations and their genres in SA, but right now, it's definitely worth investing in.

 

Find out what other experts in the industry have to say, read "Does radio play still matter? (Seven industry insiders weigh in)". 

 

 

It's indie rock 'n' roll for me

 

Let's not beat around the bush here, the internet has wreaked havoc upon the music industry - nobody's making as much money as they used to - musicians, managers, record labels, music stores - nobody. We're having to take a long hard look at the formula, and rebalance the equation. And while majors are having the toughest time of it all, it seems the indie labels are coming out strongest.

 

Read "Record Store Day 2014: Why record labels still matter" to find out how UK indie labels are riding the storm.

 

Money and power in music

 

Here they are: the "12 most powerful people in the music industry right now", according to DigitalMusicNews.com. The list includes Tim Cook, Len Blavatnik, Tim Westergren, Lucian Grainge and Bob Lefsetz - some commenters disagree with the list.

 

 

Musicians are entrepreneurs too

 

Any successful musician in the South African music industry will tell you that they got to where they are through hard work - it echoes in every single interview I've done - from Zakes Bantwini to Jack Parow. More often than not, there's no such thing as overnight success. 

 

There are plenty of parallels between being a musician and an entrepreneur - PolicyMic.com explores some of these parallels in "Why do we mock aspiring musicians and revere entrepreneurs?" and makes an appeal for society to support its aspiring musicians as much as we support startup entrepreneurs.

 

Google makes its play

 

Google's latest play for its share in the digital music industry pie almost ended up going sour recently as record label execs weren't entirely happy with the ts & cs of the soon-to-launch Youtube subscription service. It's now all full steam ahead for the project, but whether YouTube viewers wil be intereted in paying for music, only time will tell. 

 

Read "Why Google and the music industry want a YouTube hit" to find out more on the service.