Music Industry
Blog #6
The Future of The Music Industry
I think the future of the music industry is difficult to predict, especially considering how things have played out so far. I don’t think streaming is going away, but I do feel younger generations will continue to reach for more tangible forms of music, like records, CDs, and even cassettes.
With the rise of short-form video content, like TikTok, Reels on Instagram, or YouTube Shorts, streaming companies are trying to find ways to move listeners from these platforms to ad-supported songs, and eventually to paid subscriptions. In the IFPI 2024 Global Music Report, Dennis Kooker of Sony Music Entertainment said: “Younger consumers are spending so much time on short-clip platforms that it is impacting the amount of time they’re spending listening to full songs… the prevalence of short-form video needs to be part of that conversation.”
TikTok has played a large part in pushing the music industry towards single-based releases as opposed to long form albums. Additionally, Spotify has begun featuring video content on their search page as a form of advertising new/suggested music. I think we will continue to see more visual integration into streaming services, because “product/model innovation is necessary to continue to engage and excite fans” (Kooker, 2024).
I also think we will continue to struggle with generative AI taking up space on streaming platforms that could be saved for human musicians. Artists may also continue to struggle with protecting their music, as “many generative AI developers are ‘training’ their models on large amounts of copyright-protected content…without authorisation from, or payment to, rightsholders” (IFPI, 2024). These algorithms can generate content that competes with the content they are trained on, and at a much faster pace than humans. In the 2024 Global Music Report, this was referred to as “cannibalizing artists’ business.”
I hope that human creativity can prevail in the music industry, and in a valuable way. The uptick of short-form content and single releases makes me appreciate the art of the long-form album. Additionally, while audio and visual are powerful when combined, I also hope we continue to value music/audio for what it is, and not only for how it can support visual content.
