Flipboard - Platform & Stream

https://flipboard.com/@platformstream/platform-%26-stream-l0a1f5rvy
http://blog.synchtank.com/projecting-trends-the-music-streaming-playlist-economy

Spotify and Apple Music will struggle in China. Meet the reason why…

Tencent Holdings is China’s largest company – with an imperious market cap valuation of more than $250bn.

It also happens to be the world’s third-biggest music subscription business – one which poses a serious threat to the global ambitions of Spotify and Apple Music.

--

According to the IFPI, China generated $169.7m for recorded music rights-holders in 2015, up 63.8% on 2014, but per capita (person) spend on recorded music was just $0.10. 

--

Tencent’s streaming services offer three paid-for tiers, priced at 8, 12 and 15 yuan ($1.16/$1.74/$2.18) a month. 

Of its 15m subscriber base – 10m of which are on QQ Music – Ng says 70% of users pay the lowest tier, with 20-25% paying the highest price.

To push them into committing, premium subscribers are offered extras like concert tickets and games credits.

--

Tencent, which carries a $255bn valuation on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, also operates chat app WeChat, social networking site Qzone, online game portal QQ Game Platform, news websites QQ.com and Tencent News, and offers video content via Tencent Video.

http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotify-and-apple-music-will-struggle-in-china-meet-the-reason-why/

Vinyl Is About to Become a Billion-Dollar Industry

The Financial Times reported this week that vinyl is poised to become a billion-dollar industry in 2017. Citing research from amorphous multinational Deloite, they wrote that vinyl, "is expected to generate between $800m and $900m in revenue in 2017," putting it on the cusp of a billion-dollar year for the first time since the 1980s.
"Vinyl should account for almost a fifth of the sales of physical music products in 2017," they wrote, "and around 7 per cent of the $15bn that the global music industry is expected to take."

https://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/article/vinyl-is-about-to-become-a-billion-dollar-industry

Reinventing A Dot-Com Era Startup For The Mobile Age

As part of its reinvention, the company this year launched “Shazam for Brands,” a service that lets users “Shazam” TV commercials, radio spots, print ads and packaging and receive additional marketing or other content. For example, Coca-Cola drinkers can scan a song printed on special bottles to create a video of themselves lip-synching to the music.
--
Today, advertising makes up the largest part of Shazam’s business.
--
Since Riley became CEO, the company has snagged three rounds of funding — with the latest $30 million round giving it a $1 billion valuation. Backers include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Acacia Capital Partners, Institutional Venture Partners and DN Capital.
--
Shazam is adding about 10 million new users a month and has more than 100 million monthly active users.  http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/09/shazam-app/?all=1

Major labels sue YouTube ripping site

The world's biggest record labels are suing a website that allows users to download the audio from YouTube videos.

Universal, Sony, Warner Bros and other labels launched legal action against the German operator of YouTube-mp3.org in a federal court in Los Angeles.
They are seeking damages from the company and its owner that include $150,000 (£115,000) for every alleged instance of piracy.
--
"Stream ripping has become a major threat to the music industry, functioning as an unlawful substitute for the purchase of recorded music and the purchase of subscriptions to authorised streaming services," the labels said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37482570
http://www.youtube-mp3.org/

Spotify have reached 40 million paying subscribers

A tweet from Daniel Ek appears to indicate that Spotify have reached the major milestone of 40 million paying subscribers.
--
Spotify paying subscribers

0 ~> 10M = 4 years
10 ~> 20M = 13 months
20 ~> 30M = 9 months
30 ~> 40M = 6 months
http://www.thenordicweb.com/dealflow/spotify-have-reached-40-million-paying-subscribers

Music Industry’s Latest Piracy Threat: Stream Ripping

According to new data from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, 49% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 24 reported stream ripping within the six months ended in April, up from 41% in the same period a year prior. Meanwhile, 30% of internet users of all ages reported stream ripping this year, a 10% increase over last year.
The trend is particularly troubling because the music industry—which has lost 60% of its value since its peak in 2000 and has barely expanded over the past five years—is banking on paid streaming services to fuel its growth.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/music-industrys-latest-piracy-threat-stream-ripping-1473718919

Stream Ripping: How Google/YouTube Is Slowly Killing the Music Industry

There is a quiet crisis brewing in the creative community…the potential end of music as a viable pathway out of economic hardship. Almost any song that comes to mind can be acquired online easily, at absolutely no charge. Adele’s “Send My Love” can be downloaded using ListenToYouTube.com. Kanye West’s “Famous” can be obtained using YouTubeinMP3.com. Even classics like Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” can be had using YouTube2MP3.cc.
The list of sites that participate in this song download frenzy, stealthily chipping away at music’s foundation, is long and growing. They are called stream rippers, named after their ability to rip audio from streamed music – and they have something in common…they all mine YouTube for music. At YouTube.com, music has become a free for all…literally. And the profession of music making hangs in the balance.
--
One of the largest of the so-called stream rippers is YouTube-mp3.org.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2016/08/03/stream-ripping-google-creating-music-free-literally/

The Taxonomy of Artists - NextBigSound

As online activity around artists continues to soar, so does the amount of accompanying information. Streams, likes, comments, events, releases — every interaction between artists and fans is recorded as a data point.

https://www.nextbigsound.com/industry-report/2016

 

Music Is Just 4.3% of YouTube Traffic, Research Shows

Music videos and music-related video content account for just 4.3% of overall YouTube traffic, according to data now released by San Francisco-based Pexeso.  By stark comparison, gaming-related content accounts for 33.4% of the total, which mirrors the massive draw of channels like Twitch.
--
All of that starkly contrasts with earlier research, some of which shows music videos accounting for more than 40% of the total.
--
Pexeso   is working to create a video detection and claiming system that functions like YouTube’s Content ID, but works for all video online.

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/08/16/music-5-percent-youtube/
https://www.pexe.so/

Spotify music data tracks millennials

As music streaming services become more popular with millennials, data on listening habits could offer brands the key to deeper insights on mood, motivation and buying intention, according to a leading executive at Spotify.
--
According to Rossi, data collected by music streaming offers 15 times more data points than other media sources.
--
"Music informs moods, mindsets, and tribes better than any other media source," he said
http://www.warc.com/LatestNews/News/EmailNews.news?CID=N37238&ID=37238&Origin=WARCNewsEmail&PUB=Warc_News

Sorry, Taylor Swift: You know you're going to lose the streaming wars, right?

23 jun 2016

Spotify just became the first music streaming service to pass 100 million active users, 30 million of whom are paid subscribers. Of the $17 billion in the music industry, the Swedish company alone contributes roughly 10%.  

--

For Spotify founder Daniel Ek, the streaming model is more like modern advertising — and that's where artists like Swift see a disconnect. As advertising focuses on metrics like cost per action and video watch time, Spotify looks at skip rates and other data points that provide valuable information for artists and labels. Information that helps them form deeper connections to fans — and ultimately, gets more people listening to their music.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sorry-taylor-swift-you-know-youre-going-lose-wars-right-katie-carroll 

 

Forever 21 bets on fashion and festival tie up

Forever 21 is the latest fashion brand trying to capitalise on the buzz around music and festivals with the launch of a new Tumblr page focused on music-related content.
The fast fashion brand launched the page, called #F21xMusic.
--
Via Tumblr, Forever 21 will build exclusive content specific to the channel, including interviews, Spotify playlists, pictures from the global music festivals, and ticket giveaways to give its audience an entirely new offering from the brand.

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/04/12/forever-21-bets-fashion-and-festival-tie
http://forever21.tumblr.com/

Spotify’s Billion Dollar Challenge

The $9.99 model only has finite opportunity. The top 10% of music buyers only spend $10 a month on music. So to grow beyond that beachhead Spotify has to grow where the market isn’t yet mature (emerging markets), make the offering feel like free (telco deals) and make the offering feel super cheap ($1 for 3 months promos).

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/spotifys-billion-dollar-challenge-mark-mulligan

Nya siffror: Spotify sätter snabb fart på nordisk musikexport

I januari 2016 genererade nordisk musik 1,4 miljarder Spotify-strömmar, visar färsk statistik.

60 procent av den nordiska musiken strömmas utanför regionen.
--
Det har förekommit oro över att strömningstjänster som Spotify och Apple Music skulle vara dåligt för lokala artister om världsstjärnor som Justin Bieber, Rihanna och Coldplay börjar dominera lyssnandet.
http://www.breakit.se/artikel/2911/nya-siffror-spotify-satter-snabb-fart-pa-nordisk-musikexport

The Weird Global Appeal of Heavy Metal

In late August, Sony Music Entertainment bought Century Media Records, a leading metal and hard rock label, for an undisclosed sum. Universal Music Group last month bought metal label Candlelight. Aside from record sales and concert tickets, merchandise is a big part of metal culture—especially T-shirts.
--
Metal festivals are proliferating—there are some 50 world-wide. Dubai’s “Rock Fest” and “Desert Rock Festival” events have drawn metal-heads from across the Middle East.
--
Over 100,000 metal bands from about 150 countries have listings on Encyclopaedia Metallum, an online archive. That is roughly double the figure from 2007. 
--
Driving metal’s growth are intensely loyal fans with unusual consumer habits. Many metal-heads still collect physical products, such as CDs. Younger fans connect not just to older bands like Black Sabbath and Death, but also established groups from all over the world like Brazil’s Sepultura, Germany’s Rammstein and Sweden’s Opeth.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-weird-global-appeal-of-heavy-metal-1455819419

Eurovision sätter Stockholm på kartan

I maj går Eurovision Song Contest av stapeln i Stockholm. Med sina 200 miljoner tv-tittare innebär festivalen en unik marknadsföringseffekt för staden. Både för att locka turister och fler stora evenemang.

Eurovision Song Contest är med sina 200 miljoner tittare världens största tv-show.

http://www.besoksliv.se/artikel/eurovision-saetter-stockholm-pa-kartan-68712
http://www.globearenas.se/events/detail/eurovision-song-contest-2016

Facebook, Apple and other tech firms try to hit high note in music industry

"As we move further away from music discovery being something you did on the radio or walking through a Tower Records store, I think social media is going to be an incredible tool for discovery, curation and recommendation," said Russ Crupnick, managing partner of MusicWatch, a New York company that provides market research for the music and entertainment industry.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_29421310/facebook-apple-and-other-tech-firms-try-hit

Så lite pengar drar Spotify in på gratisanvändare

Enligt Spotifys luxemburgska årsredovisning avseende 2014, som Breakit tagit del av, drog Spotify in motsvarande 916 miljoner kronor via annonsering under året, sett till dagens valutakurs. Det motsvarar knappt en tiondel av Spotifys totala årsomsättning 2014 på drygt 10 miljarder kronor.

Totalomsättningen 2014 baseras i sin tur på 45 miljoner gratisanvändare och 15 miljoner betalande. Det innebär, om man slår ut annoseringsintäkterna på antalet gratisanvändare, att Spotify i snitt får in 20 kronor per gratisanvändare och år.
--
Generellt sett betalar Spotify ut 70 procent av sina intäkter till rättighetsinnehavare.
--
Enligt Stefan Palmquist, som är Spotifys säljchef i Norden, ökade bolagets reklamintäkter med 53 procent under det första kvartalet av 2015 jämfört med motsvarande period 2014.

http://www.svd.se/sa-lite-pengar-drar-spotify-in-pa-gratisanvandare/om/musiktjansternas-krig
https://www.spotify.com/se/brands/targeting/

The rise and rise of headphones: Why the set you buy isn’t just a question of sound quality, but identity

The sudden explosion in the previously flatlining market for headphones in 2012 was nothing short of extraordinary. Celebrity endorsements, both paid and unpaid, saw Beats revenues soar by 75 per cent, with the retail headphone industry experiencing a 32 per cent lift overall. Headphones became the newest fashion accessory. New brands selling designer models began to spring up – Urbanears, Sol Republic, Skullcandy, Frends – while existing brands tried to create products that satisfied our demand for something a little more eye-catching.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-rise-and-rise-of-headphones-why-the-set-you-buy-isn-t-just-a-question-of-sound-quality-but-a6756396.html