The Music Industry

The Music Industry

The music industry has been growing exponentially since the wake of the twenty-first century. Artists then became overly engaged in producing interesting music to reach target audiences from all over, but how would the consumers possibly get access to this? Streaming was the ultimate solution to the rising needs of music fans to access their favorite tracks. Before long, companies such as Spotify had filled this void, improving the accessibility and ease of personalizing music to the fans.  Increased subscription top these platforms meant that the industry was making more money, but the unanswered question was whether the artists were making equally more profits from their music.  Although the stream services (offered by different companies) are criticized by other service providers, they remain the best vehicle to satisfy consumer needs and maintain the balance among the multiple stakeholders.

Since its inception, streaming services have grown into primary platforms for the consumption of music, which is in line with the changing music consumer needs (Ingham, 2019). In the past two years, the streaming companies have made more money than ever, which would supposedly mean an increase in the amount of returns transferred to the artists and record labels.  However, the article reveals that the artistes and record labels were disappointingly paid 1.1 % less of the total money from the music consumers than the previous year.  More to this is that only 56 % of the total revenue of streaming services reached the artists (Ingham, 2019).  Streaming platforms are usually in aid of the average person to access the latest musical talents. This is everyone’s interest in music. Watching the latest talents of choosing with less interest in what does not concern you. There is a negligible return to an artist from a single stream that is divided between them and their labels.  Yet Spotify will openly rant their contribution in saving the industry from piracy and object offers to raise royalties of songwriters (Ingham, 2019).

In response to the deficits recorded in the prorate model used by stream services, most opponents have suggested the implementation of the user-centric model.  This would mean that ‘if I listen to Led Zeppelin 25 percent of the time, Led Zeppelin gets 25 percent of my money.’ (Hogan, 2019). This model has greatly been appraised for allowing music fans to listen to the tracks of their favorite artists, knowing that they are being compensated equally. Embracement of this model would mean, according to proponent’s, fairness, and equitability (Hogan, 2019).  Moreover, a user-centric model would be suitable for the prevention of fraud.

It is, however, advantageous to embrace change as it occurs in the music industry. Customers are becoming increasingly interested in streaming music online, and as this plummets, so should the earnings for the artists and labels.  Ingham (2019) states that, although significant amounts of money go unaccounted for due to increase of stakeholders, artists and record labels are relatively making more earnings. On the other hand, the user-centric model is, as it appears, complex to implement.  There would be an extra administrative cost incurred in attempting to account for the number of streams per individual (Hogan, 2019). This model has not yet been tested, and therefore, steaming remains the more viable option for music access. The most recent partnership between major artists and the American government signals light at the end of the tunnel. This initiative, if successful, will ensure that all artists are paid what they deserve while consumers have easier access to their desire music.  It is right to state that without streaming services such as Spotify, the music industry would still be lagging far behind.

References

Hogan, M. (2019). Is There a Fairer Way for Streaming Services to Pay Artists?. Retrieved 23 June 2020, from https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/is-there-a-fairer-way-for-streaming-services-to-pay-artists/

Ingham, T. (2019). Streaming Platforms are Keeping More Money From Artists than Ever (and Paying Them More, Too). Retrieved 23 June 2020, from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/streaming-platforms-keeping-more-money-from-artists-than-ever-817925/