I am glad to get to do another Weekly Roundup this week and to talk a bit more about what is happening in the music industry! And most of all I hope everyone is staying safe!
For this week, a few things on streaming and the new funds put together by the major actors to help independent players keep going. Everything made to help artists keep releasing (by the way, did you see the free beta version of our new product Releases Manager?), and to help the music industry dialog, even though a lot of cancellations keep being announced (such as the 2020 edition of Hellfest).
#1. Apple launches a $50 million advance for indie labels
Apple is on the move music-wise. Apple Music announced a fund of $50 million dedicated to indie labels. This fund will be a royalty advance to help these actors paying their artists and function until the situation gets better. See the official statement and the conditions given by Apple.
Indeed, for labels, with no physical sales, no live shows and a significative slowdown licensing and sync deals, times are hard. This fund is dedicated to help these actors keep going through the crisis and keep the industry running.
#2. Believe Digital’s Denis Ladegaillerie gives advice to labels and artists
In a tribune in Music Business Worldwide, the director of Believe (specialized in distribution and services to independent labels) gives a bit of business intelligence on whether you should keep releasing and / or anticipate revenue drops.
The attention being digital-driven now more than ever, if, as a label or artist, releasing could be the right call (there aren’t big releases you’ll bump into!). Just as a reminder, we launched our beta version of Releases Manager to allow you to save time by preparing your releases from your Reprtoir workspace and directly upload it on the distributor’s platform. Try it for free with Believe!
#3. Thinking streaming growth over 2020
We’ve been confined for a few weeks now, at least for us in France, and although streaming went through a slight decrease at the beginning, it seems like it is going well on the long term plan. Music Business Worldwide published some numbers from the Counterpoint Research study. After the growth announced by Spotify last February, streaming is still looking good for 2020.
Competition is getting fierce, between updates from every main streaming actor. And that could a bigger differentiation at a time when users are staying at home, more able to follow every changes! Considering how easy it gets to change platforms through services like Soundiiz, it is worth keeping an eye on.
#4. Instagram is looking to help paying artists on livestream
Since the beginning of confinement, you couldn’t escape all livestream initiatives put together by major actors. We talked about Bandsintown going on Twitch, a few artists went on Instagram and others directly on Facebook Live.
But this wave of livestream doesn’t help with the fact that the live industry being stopped. And artists rely on live shows for revenue (among others, but it is no surprise that concert tickets have an important part). Well, Adam Mosseri teased earlier this week a few new features to give artists options to monetize their livestreams.
#5. Conferences go online too
A lot of events got cancelled and I am not only talking about concerts. This year, we were planning on making the trip to MusicBiz in Nashville - postponed to August, MIDEM - going online, and Wallifornia Music Tech - for now the website still announces beginning of July.
The trend seems to be set: major industry events are going online. This way, the ecosystem still gets together and a greater audience can be reached. In the same dynamic, RPS in the United States hosts #Websday sessions on Zoom with a new topic every week. Find artists and the rest of the industry online!
