Vlad Masslove's Reactions

  • Which songs are used the most in Film and TV? #music #Synchronization #MusicBusiness #Film #TV #Production

  • France’s recorded music revenues reached $1.1bn in 2024, up 7% YoYThe growing popularity of music streaming and a boost from the Paris Olympics propelled France to a large increase in music exports
    Source

    The growing popularity of music streaming and a boost from the Paris Olympics propelled France to a large increase in music exports.

  • Recorded music market 2024: $36.2 billion, up 6.5%MIDiA has just released its annual recorded music market shares report. Clients can access the full report and the accompanying massive (!) data set here. For the rest of you, here are some highlights from the report.

    Global recorded music growth has oscillated through the 2020s and 2024 continued that pattern, up 6.5% to $36.2 billion after 9.4% growth in 2023. (Excluding expanded rights, the total was $32.1 billion). Given that the first half of the 2020s was characterised by global upheaval and uncertainty, shaped by factors such as the pandemic and rising inflation and interest rates, 6,5% growth was no small achievement. But global disruption is not going away – 2025 has thus far picked up the baton and sprinted with it. The music business is going to have to get used to operating in challenging global circumstances, even before considering a growing catalogue of disruptive industry specific trends such as, bifurcation, the rise of the Global South and a fast-maturing streaming market.

    Streaming still dominates revenues but its impact is lessening. For the first time ever, its share of total revenues declined slightly in 2024, down from 61.5% to 61.3%, with streaming growing slightly slower than the total market to reach $22.2 billion. Streaming is no longer the market maker. Its contribution to total market growth was down by more than a fifth compared to 2022. The streaming revenue slowdown has been on the horizon for many years and – despite price increases – it has now arrived. Super premium cannot come soon enough.

    On top of this, physical was down -4.8%, carrying on its very own 2020s yo-yo growth pattern (up, down, up, down). So where did all the growth come from? Other i.e. performance, sync and expanded rights. Expanded rights (merch etc) were up to $4.1 billion, reflecting the recorded music businesses success in monetising fandom. Other as a whole was up 17.3% while Sony Music pulled up a forest of trees, seeing its ‘other’ revenue up by 38.6% in 2024.

    In fact, Sony Music had a good year all round. UMG remained comfortably the world’s largest label with revenues of $10.5 billion but for the second successive year, Sony Music Group (SMG) was the fastest growing major label, increasing revenues by 10.2% to grow market share 700 basis points to 21.7%. SMG was the fastest growing major label in the first half of the decade, growing by a total of 73.9% between 2020 and 2024. The only other market constituent to grow share was non-major labels, up to 29.6% market share. Artists Direct meanwhile (self-releasing artists) felt the pinch of new royalty structures, with revenues slower than the market to reach $2.0 billion. This despite the fact that the number of self-releasing artists grew by 17.2% to reach 8.2 million, with Chinese streaming services Tencent and NetEase seeing particularly strong growth.

    One of the most important market trends though, is the growing gap between DSPs and labels and distributors. Streaming services are both growing revenue faster than rightsholders and are widening the growth gap. DSPs grew revenue three times faster than labels in 2024 and the rate of growth was up three years running. Despite working within tightly set rightsholder constraints, DSPs are learning how to improve margin through a diverse mix of tactics including content mix (e.g., podcasts, audiobooks), acquiring cheaper music (e.g., production libraries, exclusive commissions, generative AI), licensing discounts (e.g., audiobook bundles) and charging labels for access to audiences (e.g., Spotify Discovery Mode). 

    All in all, a solid year for the recorded music market, but with warning signs: labels aren’t keeping pace with DSP growth and despite keeping the long tail of Artists Direct quiet with new licensing structures, more artists than ever are deciding to release without labels. Eventually they (and smaller indie labels) will take heed of the ‘you’re not welcome here’ sign on streaming’s door and build their audiences elsewhere. This will be a short-term win for bigger labels, but long-term risk, with this new lane being where much of tomorrow’s culture will be made. In case you forgot, Bifurcation is coming.

    Note: we scaled down some of our historical numbers slightly to reflect some double counting of independent label revenue distributed by other independent labels

    MIDiA has just released its annual recorded music market shares report. Clients can access the full report and the accompanying massive (!) data set here. For the rest of you, here are some highlig…

  • Apple to introduce new ambient music feature with iOS 18.4With the upcoming version of iOS, Apple is set to offer ambient music playlists from directly within the Control Center, each curated for a different mood. By default, it will give access to four categories – productivity, wellbeing, chill, and sleep – but users can customise this to allow access to any playlist from Apple Music.
    For those with an Apple Music subscription, this feature will come with additional benefits. Subscribers will have full control over the tracks played, enabling them to skip songs, choose specific tracks, and save their favourite songs into custom playlists.

    READ MORE: “This just looks like another wild scam”: Billy McFarland claps back at Mexican tourism board for claiming it has “no knowledge” of Fyre 2 – but people aren’t buying it

    However, even without a subscription, users can still enjoy the feature, with Apple’s algorithms selecting and playing the most fitting tracks based on the chosen mood.
    Currently, this feature is available in Beta mode, allowing users to test out its functionality and offer feedback before its full release. It’s expected to be officially rolled out in April 2025 with the release of iOS 18.4.
    This update is set to include some other major changes to Apple devices, several of which involve new features for Apple Intelligence. For example, Apple Intelligence will now be able to determine which notifications are the most important and display these in a separate section of the lock screen, so only the most relevant notifications get through.
    Apple also recently released the new Powerbeats Pro 2, following their first-generation release in 2019. These sporty headphones are designed to offer ten hours of battery life and have active noise cancellation. They are also the first Apple headphones able to monitor the wearer’s heart rate, a useful feature for any sportsperson wanting to keep track of their progress.
    Learn more about iOS 18 at Apple.
    The post Apple to introduce new ambient music feature with iOS 18.4 appeared first on MusicTech.

    With the new version of iOS, Apple will offer ambient music playlists from within the Control Center, each curated for a different mood.

  • Record companies in India want to join a lawsuit against ChatGPT maker OpenAINews organizations, book publishers, and now music companies want to join a copyright infringement suit against OpenAI being heard by a court in Delhi
    Source

    News organizations, book publishers, and now music companies want to join a copyright infringement suit against OpenAI being heard by a court in Delhi.

  • Every human #Musician and #Producer must have their own watermark/fingerprint printed to a complete track they produce. Ideally, it should be located in inaudible spectrum and every person should register this personal code in some #Opensource international music database. And the trace must be dynamic not static, and devices should read it too. I think this can solve most of problems of #AI (as a good tool) and copyrights issues in the #MusicIndustry. Probably, this is where #Technology and #musictech should focus more. There are several technologies already available for music distributors and big broadcast players around

  • From Warner’s Spotify and Amazon deals to Sir Lucian Grainge’s 2025 memo… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
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  • Spotify confirms 2024 was its first full year of profitability – amid ongoing industry debate surrounding artist payoutsSpotify has recorded its first full year of profitability in its Q4 earnings report from 2024.
    The streaming platform ended the year “stronger than ever” by outperforming across key metrics, according to the report. Its first full year of profitability was first predicted in its Q3 data, which was released back in November last year.

    READ MORE: Universal Music Group and Spotify ink new multi-year deal that will “advance music monetisation” and “accelerate product innovation”

    Despite growing criticism of Spotify and its artist payouts – along with the streaming model as a whole – the platform says its monthly active users grew by 12 percent year-on-year to 675 million in 2024, and its subscribers increased by 11 percent year-on-year to 263 million.
    Across the board, total revenue for Spotify was up 16 percent year-on-year to €4.2 billion last year, and its operating income rose to €477 million. 2024 marked Spotify’s 10th annual Wrapped, for which it also saw record-high user engagement up 10 percent year-on-year across 184 markets and 53 languages. Listeners have also now created more than eight billion playlists via the platform.
    “I am very excited about 2025 and feel really good about where we are as both a product and as a business,” comments Daniel Ek, Spotify Founder & CEO. “We will continue to place bets that will drive long term impact, increasing our speed while maintaining the levels of efficiency we achieved last year. It’s this combination that will enable us to build the best and most valuable user experience, grow sustainably and deliver creativity to the world.”
    The Q4 finding follow on from a new report published at the end of January by Spotify’s VP and Head of Music, David Kaefer, in which he said that Spotify paid out $10 billion to the music industry in 2024, and has paid out nearly $60 billion since its inception.
    Kaefer also noted that ten years ago in 2014, around 10,000 artists generated at least $10,000 on Spotify, while as of 2024, “well over” 10,000 artists generated over $100,000 per year on the platform. He said, “The system we built together is working, and where we are now is only the beginning”.
    But while these figures look promising, and indeed reflect the fact that, more artists are able to earn more money on Spotify, many commenters note that the platform’s low royalty payouts make earning a living as a smaller artist very difficult.
    Icelandic artist Björk recently called Spotify “the worst thing that has happened to musicians”, saying low payouts are increasing the demand for artists to embark on gruelling tours to make ends meet. “Streaming culture has changed an entire society and an entire generation of artists,” she said.
    Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante also recently chimed in, saying “Spotify is where music goes to die”, and adding: “You’d probably make more money selling lemonade on the corner.”
    Spotify CEO Daniel Ek also drew the ire of the music creator community last year when he compared low royalty payouts to professional sports, saying: “Football is played by millions of people – but there’s a very small number that can live off playing full time”.
    You can find out more and view Spotify’s Q4 earnings report via its For The Record newsroom.
    The post Spotify confirms 2024 was its first full year of profitability – amid ongoing industry debate surrounding artist payouts appeared first on MusicTech.

    Spotify has recorded its first full year of profitability in its Q4 earnings report from 2024 – while the industry continues to debate its low royalty payouts.

  • #Spotify stakes owned a lot by #majors is a win-win for them, but usual #Musicians always lose - casino always wins in #MusicBusiness. When UMG CEO says they are all about music we think about that

  • Chartmetric 2024 Report: new Superstars, Glocalization, MoreDiscover the highlights from the Chartmetric 2024 Report including new superstars, trigger cities, glocalization and more: One of several shockers: of the 11 million Spotify profiles tracked by Chartmetric, only 1.58 million (14%) have more than 10 listeners per month.
    The post Chartmetric 2024 Report: new Superstars, Glocalization, More appeared first on Hypebot.

    Discover the key insights and trends from the Chartmetric 2024 Report. Explore emerging fandom, streaming trends, and artist development.

  • We are soon restarting the #PublMeExplore #Music #Store publications so get ready to listen #TheMusicverse 🌌 latest community music 🎵

  • Many #music #Producers keep some 'Leftover' projects, so how to organize and revisit your #musicproduction later? This message makes a perfect sense for me: "Reusing and recycling old ideas might not sound very attractive to a beginning producer; you might have all kinds of ideas all the time, but experience trouble translating them into music. But trust me—once you get to the inevitable point where ideas become more scarce than ability, you’ll thank yourself for establishing organization."