Well, here it is, our last Weekly Roundup of the year! Next week, Reprtoir will be taking a little break to come back all rested and ready to give you new features, launch new services. So let’s dive into the music industry’s news on last time for 2022 and we’ll meet back here in January!
#1. Apple Music is making a pretty big difference in the music industry
You may have noticed that Apple Music is regularly making headlines by adding services and features to the streaming service. Now, right before the holiday break, Apple Music is launching its karaoke feature: Sing.
Another smart move from the company which seems to understand its audience very well. Indeed, it appears that the paying subscribers to Apple Music are more likely to have an active listening and willing to pay for music. When Spotify’s audience is a bit more passive (which ultimately makes sense considering the fact that there’s a chunk of it that is using the freemium service). Incidentally, the karaoke market is one of the most lucrative, bringing more and more of that more engaged audience. Let’s see what the streaming services are prepping for next year now.
#2. Tumblr steps into livestream
Apple is not the only platform making noise this week, and this one tastes like a blast from the past. Tumblr is launching a livestreaming service in partnership with The Meet Group. Tumblr Live will have several meetups such as gaming sessions or book clubs. The goal is simple; take advantage of the loss of users from their competitors (hello Twitter) by pushing videos to attract new advertisers and subscribers.
Plus, in the spirit of keeping Tumblr’s image, a particular attention will be set on moderation and a toxic environment to avoid reproducing problems of harassment online. Community is still very well at the center of Tumblr’s plan.
#3. TikTok’s place in the music landscape
Moving on to another main platform, are TikTok’s sensations just that? It seems like after a few tries from record labels to sign and manage TikTok’s biggest hits, the trend is slowing down. Indeed, not all of them managed to create tracks to keep up with the fame and now, we may be realizing that the short videos platform is not only about the music. TikTok is a more global experience, mixing image with sound and interactions. It’s also very versatile.
That doesn’t mean that the platform will become irrelevant, it’s still a strong marketing tool for musicians and their team. We’ll see how the ecosystem around the platform will evolve if and when a music service emerges in the next months.
#4. A quick study of Shazam data
Let’s keep going with our wrap up of music platforms and set our attention onto Shazam. As you know, Shazaming a song has a strong potential for streams right after. Here is a quick study of the reasons behind a spike in Shazams for a specific track.
This exercise is here to demonstrate one thing: data will tell you everything you need to know. In this particular use case, we discover that on radio airplay has driven about a 100 Shazam, crossed with other DSPs and streaming services data, you can track the kind of music these new listeners are into. This is priceless information because then you’ll be able to tag your tracks accordingly to make the recommendation algorithm of their favorite streaming platform work your way. Interesting to keep an eye on it right?
#5. Hipgnosis eyeing Justin Bieber’s catalog
Finally, it wouldn’t be a 2022 Weekly Roundup without some big sale announcement of a catalog buyout right? Well, now it’s a rumor of Justin Bieber selling publishing and record music rights to Hipgnosis for a price of around $200 million. This would be the biggest acquisition by the fund yet.
