This is from the point of an insider writing about the “old” music biz. What this writer does not address is what is happening in the world of EDM, and now, hip-hop and alt-rock, where artists are releasing and controlling their music through 100% ownership of NFTs. What the writer doesn’t address are the new decentralized channels of distribution spring up and taking market share from landbased radio, youtube, spotify, Apple Music, etc.
Not mentioning any of the above tells me just how unaware corporations are to the rumblings underneath the foundations.
What a time to be alive and cognizant of all that is going on in the world of crypto. If the writer wanted to see the old punk ethos of DIY very alive and kicking, he should stick his head in the door of a decentralized channel of distribution where artists are not only paid, but listeners too, in the underlying crypto.
I am amazed at how little awareness is out here:
Old songs now represent 70 percent of the U.S. music market, according to the latest numbers from MRC Data, a music-analytics firm. Those who make a living from new music—especially that endangered species known as the working musician—should look at these figures with fear and trembling. But the news gets worse: The new-music market is actually shrinking. All the growth in the market is coming from old songs.
The 200 most popular new tracks now regularly account for less than 5 percent of total streams. That rate was twice as high just three years ago. The mix of songs actually purchased by consumers is even more tilted toward older music. The current list of most-downloaded tracks on iTunes is filled with the names of bands from the previous century, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Police.
I encountered this phenomenon myself recently at a retail store, where the youngster at the cash register was singing along with Sting on “Message in a Bottle” (a hit from 1979) as it blasted on the radio. A few days earlier, I had a similar experience at a local diner, where the entire staff was under 30 but every song was more than 40 years old. I asked my server: “Why are you playing this old music?” She looked at me in surprise before answering: “Oh, I like these songs.”