This week has been an interesting one to watch, mainly because data and insights are pouring out of a few moves made by streaming platforms. Let’s dive into how Spotify, Apple or Napster and changing the game of music streaming.
#1. Is Hi-Res sound going to be a defining moment for music streaming?
We’ve been talking about it at the end of last week: Apple launched their Lossless Audio offer to all their audience, without any price increase. Amazon quickly followed by letting go of their subscription a bit more expensive. This is a pretty important move, right after Spotify announced the need to raise prices, the fact that they also announced Hi-Res audio, without any specific information on pricing. So maybe the deals between platforms and labels aren’t the same, meaning that prices might change for some users?
But this announcement from Apple also means that differentiating points might be redefined. See, the sound quality was supposed to be a decisive factor in favor of one platform above the others. But now that Hi-Res is coming at a regular price, the trend could change, in favor of Apple and Amazon, relying on their fuller offers (in bundles). MIDiA Research went into details and mapped out the state of the main streaming platforms.
#2. TikTok Radio is going to be a thing pretty soon
Big news for radio: TikTok is coming into the game, with Pandora. The Social app will be launching their web radio this year, with the presence of a few talents discovered by the platform. The goal is to recreate the “For You” section, to help emerging talents to get discovered. On their part, Pandora will be helping with curation and playlisting.
In the meantime, the marketing powerhouse of TikTok, Creed Media, just sold a “strategic state” to an investment fund in London. This is an interesting course of events; the agency has been working with the major platform of the industry. And TikTok is obviously doing well!
#3. News from Napster
We have news from Napster! The head of the company is talking about the future of the platform after being bought by MelodyVR for $70 million. Everyone in the music industry knows who Napster is; they disrupted and shook the field to its core. And they’re now at the front of innovation, again. Going from Rhapsody to MelodyVR will help Napster to go from their B2B-based business model to a brand new immersive experience, with a streaming platform. I’ll leave it at a few words from Anthony Matchett: "The streaming landscape is a competitive business to be in, and at Napster we already pay the vast majority of our revenue back to rights-holders and artists”.
#4. Some data from Spotify on fans
As professionals working between the music industry and tech, data is our sweet spot. And I know it yours too; it will give you all the insights you need to make the right decisions for your music business. Spotify has released their data platform getting into fans behavior on the streaming platform.
Discover 15 major insights on fans behavior, taken from millions of data points, from the biggest music streaming platform.
#5. A few thoughts on the metaverse
“As always in music, the primary consideration when music is created, performed, streamed, and exploited online is rights clearances.” Yup, that checks out.
This is a direct quote from the Reed Smith Guide to the Metaverse. The law firm has been working on a long form, including several insights related to the metaverse trend we’re seeing emerge in the music industry getting closer and closer to the gaming industry. Livestream is without a doubt here to stay, and it might be a good thing to get into details, find out a few insights for your own business.
