Is recorded music pandemic-proof? Data collected by the Recording Industry Assn. of America measuring U.S. music revenues in 2020 demonstrates the market’s resilience. The RIAA year-end report, released Feb. 26, reveals that the industry as a whole grew 9.2% in 2020 to $12.2 billion at estimated retail value.
Most of the action has been in the song rights and publishing space, stirred by London-based Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis’ aggressive pursuit of songwriters’ shares. What’s fueling the interest of investors? Streaming allows songs to make money for a longer stretch with a more predictable revenue flow than when the industry relied on selling albums or singles. The potential of sync placements and samples adds icing to the cake, as does the notion that “song management” will allow more focus on individual works than a publisher, which is responsible for tens of thousands of works at any given time.
In the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that “nightclubs and large events” can reopen by June 21 prompted Live Nation to announce rescheduled dates for three major festivals, selling some 170,000 tickets in four days. The company then saw its stock soar based on enthusiasm for its timetable, despite recently announced quarterly earnings in which revenue declined by a sobering 92%.
While the touring industry’s eyes are very much on the horizon, promoters and agencies have found ways to pivot over the past year. Livestreamed concerts have made enormous progress and even become lucrative for certain artists. Rapper Travis Scott held a virtual concert in the video game Minecraft last May that drew an initial audience of 12.3 million — and 27.7 million unique participants including the four replays, according to Pollstar.
Isabel Quinteros, senior manager of music partnerships and artist relations at TikTok, says the platform’s algorithm “is why it’s the best app for music discovery. … TikTok distributes content based on performance and interests, allowing for good content to have a wide reach despite how many followers you may or may not have.”
Even a 1.0 version of discovery is coming back into fashion on TikTok as music blogs proliferate on the platform. MostleyMusic, which boasts 233,000 followers, offers track reviews, music history lessons and of course, emerging artist recommendations. A similar trend on Instagram hasn’t proven to be as sticky.
Sam Ashworth, who has co-written much of H.E.R.’s material and was Golden Globe-nominated with Leslie Odom Jr. for “Speak Now,” says he initially resisted Zoom co-writing, too, because “a lot of times songwriting sessions can be like counseling sessions. I don’t think people are as prone to get as personal over video as they can be in a room.” Yet Ashworth sees an advantage to the new way of writing that may survive the pandemic.
According to MRC Data, which tracks music consumption, Latin artists thrived on streaming services in 2020 — with a 14.8% gain, the genre led all others in growth — with acts like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Rosalía and Karol G driving momentum.
Cancel BadBunny