Industry news
High5: In other music news #3
Looking at the past week in music; the death knell tolls louder for the music industry, why we should embrace industry disruptions, the value crisis in recorded music, how artist and label revenue will soon come from advertising, and 2face Idibia tackles the issue of collection societies in Nigeria.
Bleak outlook for music industry
Yup, here's another 'death of the music industry' piece. I hate to share it, but the stats don't lie. The "1-2%" refered to in the article "The music industry's "1-2%" death knell" is the percentage of iTunes Radio listeners that actively click the “Buy” button to purchase a song they just heard. So much for the power of streaming, right?! The article does end off optimistically though - it's worth a read.
Love disruptors
In this piece, Ernie Smith of Associations Now explains why rather than attempting to expunge disruptions to industry - as in the Napster case - those industries would do themselves a favour by looking for benefits or solutions around those disruptions. Learn to love disruptors, he says in "What jukeboxes teach about disruptive business models".
What's music worth to you
The internet is probably the most magestic curve ball ever thrown at the music industry - the biggest mistake we ever made, trying to whack online P2P sharing out of the park, still haunts us today. Everyone involved in the industry is feeling the repercussions today, but it's the music itself that's taken the biggest knock. Read "The value crisis in recorded music - a new exclusivity" to grasp the far-reaching effects of music piracy, and how the perceived value of music has declined steadily over the last 15 years.
Selling audiences to advertisers
We know CD sales are plummeting, MP3 sales figures are following suit, and terrestrial radio listenership stats in the States are on the decline - and South African broadcast radio stations will certainly see the same trend in the not too distant future. So how, we're all asking ourselves, are artists supposed to make a living? Well, audience development strategist Paul Goldstein believes, "The majority of revenue flowing to artists and labels will soon come from advertising, not the sales of MP3s, CDs or subscriptions." Find out how - read "The future of the music industry: selling audiences to advertisers".
2face Idibia (Source: Facebook)
2face Idibia takes up COSON cause
Looking to West Africa, it appears we're all fighting various issues around 'free music'. Nigerian music star 2face Idibia has taken up the COSON (Copyright Society of Nigeria) cause, calling on Nigerian musicians and industry stakeholders to fully support the organisation. "Music users in Nigeria must realise that music is not free. It costs money, time and sleepless nights to put out the music we all enjoy. The creators of this music must be compensated appropriately," said Idibia at the Nigerian Entertainment Conference held recently at Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos. Read "2face Idibia demands full spupport for COSON across Nigeria" for more info.
