The music industry has changed drastically over the last 15 years. With the introduction of MP3 players to online radio stations like Pandora to music streaming websites like Spotify and SoundCloud, we have been on quite an innovating adventure. This has changed the game for record labels and artists, as well as the companies they work with.
Artists are no longer making the kind of money they had in the past off album sales. They can thank technology of that, since the invention of music streaming on the internet has totally wiped out the need for people to go out and buy physical albums. Buying a CD or vinyl record at the store has become a hobby to try an honor the past for some people, for others they want the artwork. But like any industry, these companies adapted and did what they had to in order to survive.
We have learned that 2016 was the second consecutive year of growth in the music industry, which had lost 40% of its revenue in the previous 15 years. 2016 saw a 5.9% expansion that has been attributed to music streaming. The numbers of people using the streaming platforms we all know and love – Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Music and more – is said to be growing.
H/T: Mixmag