Better ways to music industry

It seems to me that there are a lot of forces in the music business whose goal is to provide content as cheaply as possible. I hate the word ‘content’, but it’s what they use. They’ve been engaged in all these different processes of trying to reduce the cost of content, and it seems realistic to imagine that there will probably be other schemes... See more

You see all these new DSPs in the wake of Spotify's ruthless efficiency trying to rescue the artistic context that’s been lost now that Spotify has essentially become the artist. How do we approximate even the simple immersive experience of buying a CD and reading the liner notes on first playthrough?Hint: The solution is not “immersive” audio!

Meaningful, sustainable success with a moderate but deeply devoted fanbase can only arise and flourish when we nurture the very things that make the creative process seem, within an efficiency-biased culture, too inefficient. Far more than technology, this requires time.

Africa makes up 18% of the world’s population, 3% of the world’s gross domestic product and half a percent of the world’s value of music copyright. Yet, African artists are achieving global recognition, with local genres such as Afrobeats or Amapiano becoming globally consumed genres. It is just as common to hear Asake in a taxi in Saudi Arabia as... See more

While a concept like “consumer-creator” might make the average artist wince, it’s nonetheless viewed as an exciting opportunity for anyone hoping to make commercial gains in the music technology industry. Not everyone sees themselves as artists, but everyone is a consumer. What could be a more efficient way to expand your total addressable market... See more

The creative industries, more often than not underpinned by copyright, are not easily measured (nor captured) by economists, but that doesn’t mean they don’t matter. Indeed, ample evidence shows they matter most, and one of the best case studies to explore is music.

Being a phenomenon of the attention economy, streaming platforms rely both on vast quantities of content and a competitive, almost gambling-like environment to attract artists who hope to go viral in the playlist ecosystem, particularly on Spotify. This leaves an opening for various commercial parties to double down on the incentives that are... See more