“Though I keep listening out of animal curiosity for what comes next, I am almost never surprised. I always feel as if I’m shopping somewhere, and the music reflects What Our Customers Like to Listen To. The experience can feel benignly inhuman.”
“More than 40m people currently pay to subscribe to a music-streaming service, and this number is increasing by 50 per cent each year. Outstanding questions about low royalty payments to artists persist, but for the customer, at least, the value proposition is obvious—for $120 a year, you get everything. Streaming services are pricey, but once … Continue reading “Music Streaming Is The Future. So Who Will Win The Streaming Wars?”
“Apple has said that at least 71.5 percent of the revenue from the service will be paid out in royalties, but labels and music publishers will not be paid during a three-month trial — a deal that major record companies have apparently agreed to but one that has proved unpalatable to many smaller ones.”
“Total listening volumes are up but the depth of engagement with the majority of those listeners is low. So choice abundance is leading to casual fan relationships. This wide rather than deep approach is great value for music fans and for labels and publishers it translates into revenue diversified across their rosters, often with strong … Continue reading “Report: Music Streaming Is Diminishing Our Engagement With Music (And Musicians)”
“‘What does Apple bring to this?’ Morris said. ‘Well, they’ve got $178 billion dollars in the bank. And they have 800 million credit cards in iTunes. … I think that will have a halo effect on the streaming business.”
“As is the case for most digital-media content providers, growth increasingly depends on maximizing the reams of data compiled about users — totalling some 79.2 million for Pandora as of March 31. For Pandora, advertising is especially important because the great majority of its users choose to listen to ads rather than pay for a … Continue reading “How Pandora Can Make A Success In The Music Streaming Business”
“When artists lament Spotify’s meager payouts, the real culprit isn’t the streaming service, which pays out 70 percent of its revenue to labels and musicians—it’s the fact that streaming doesn’t make a whole lot of revenue to begin with. The most likely way for that to change is for there to be more paying users … Continue reading “We’re Entering The Next Phase Of Music Streaming”
“The dominant music services act as if songs were commodities, more-or-less interchangeable digital files designed to be consumed and quickly forgotten. But if the sellers treat their products with such disdain and disrespect, why should consumers do otherwise?”
“There are now an estimated 450 music rental services around the world, and while many people still listen for free, a desire for more choice is persuading more music lovers to part with their cash. In a three-year period the number of paying subscribers rose from 8 million to 28 million.”
“The music industry views on streaming is largely split in two. On the pro side are the majority of labels (in particular the bigger ones) – and on the con side are the artists.”
