music streaming

Old rights systems and remuneration struggle to keep up, and meanwhile, new creators keep creating, and audiences keep engaging. The wheel keeps turning in an explosion of creativity and growth, while legacy organisations wring their hands in confusion. Adaptation is made even more challenging by the fact that these new methods of consumption are,... See more

The music industry is deceiving you. They aren’t doing it on purpose, though. Statistics are just deceptive. And I’m not talking about any fancy statistical techniques. I’m talking about simple things, like means and medians. I’ll illustrate how with Spotify’s album charts.

The simplest way a music streaming service calculates the top album on their... See more

If Apple wanted to offer exclusive music, they would cut a deal with Taylor Swift. They have the cash to do it. They wouldn’t waste time on locking up Kalevi Aho. That’s so obvious I shouldn’t even have to say it, but (given all the smoke and mirrors here), I really do.

So we’re clearly dealing with the bad Apple here. And the fact that the company... See more

You can’t convince the general public that technological progress is actually bad if they like it.

A month earlier, according to Music Business Worldwide, UMG acquired the remaining 51% of PIAS, Europe’s largest independent music company. These acquisitions illustrate Universal’s recognition that this is where the revenue growth in the music industry is happening.

But the music industry does not typically recognise social media as a form of music consumption or YouTubers as artists.

So lately I have been wondering: Is music stuck? Or is the industry unable to see what it is becoming?