This week, it is impossible no to talk about the industry facing the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find our view of the situation here: How music industry is facing Coronavirus. And if you’re willing to keep your focus on a daily basis, Bas Grasmayer just launched his daily newsletter MUSIC x CORONAVIRUS.
But, and you know this as well as we do, music industry players have to be creative to find solutions to compensate cancellations and keep the music industry afloat. The music industry is usually one of the first industries to take hits when global problems are happening.
We will talk about Coronavirus in this new Weekly Roundup, but we also will take a look at what is happening in other sectors of the music business. Because people haven’t stopped working on their projects and innovation is still going strong!
So let’s keep going at it, and stay safe.
#1. Live industry taking a huge hit
We had to mention it: the live industry is taking a toll. Events cancellations keep coming one after another. And the predictions are not good for the next few months. Rolling Stone took a tour of all the actors concerned by the events being cancelled or postponed.
For artists, managers and organizers, it’s not only events that are impacted, but also their whole strategies for the year. The impact will be on the long term, without any certainty of how long it will take to come back from it.
For venues, some places are trying to stay open to public. A few options are tested by a few actors. In Europe, several countries have forbidden +1000 people gatherings and encouraging avoiding planning any kind of events.
#2. Spotify’s emerging artists
If a sector in the music industry is doing well, it is the recorded music industry. And there are a few interesting news in that area!
Spotify launched the program RADAR, dedicated to promote emerging artists on the platform. RADAR will be centered around a playlist, adapted to every country. This new announcement comes with a long term trend to develop paid opportunities and promotion for artists.
It’s not the first time Spotify has been working towards a more direct link with artists. After an attempt to allow artists to upload and manage their tracks directly on the platform, the program was shut down last year. RADAR is a new way to connect with artists, from another angle.
#3. Tracking for rights holders just became easier!
This week, the company Pex announced their acquisition of Dubset. Let me break it down: Pex is a royalty attribution startup, meaning they scan social network and user generated content platforms to identify content and pay artists. Dubset has been developing ways to identify samples and remixes.
The company looks promising: the technologies developed could ease up the process of copyright for artists. We should follow their development closely.
#4. Sony is getting into podcast
If you didn’t hear about the move from Sony Music Group towards podcast, it might be because they have been very discreet. When Spotify started describing themselves as a media company, Sony quietly acquired several actors.
To understand that move, and the strategy that is being put in motion to hold their ground facing a Spotify with a wider content offer than the major, get a read of Cherie Hu’s investigation. A trend worth keeping an eye on.
#5. Amazon Music’s Ryan Redington about Country
To end on a high note, Amazon Music director talks about the rise of Country music in streaming. Ryan Redington expands on opening the genre to another way to reach audiences thanks to local partnerships and how he sees the future. Find out more about this interview in the latest Label Services edition of Music Week, featuring Reprtoir!
