Music Industry Analysis
Music Biz curates a feed of music industry news articles, business statistics and trend analysis from a variety of media outlets, filtering out the noise to deliver you the actionable insights you need to succeed. Starting in 2024, these articles will be accessible exclusively from Music Biz’s social media feeds.
June 5, 2020 – ‘More Is More’: Why Hip-Hop Stars Have Adopted The Instant Deluxe Edition
Artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Baby and Nav have bulked up their track lists to super-serve fans during the pandemic — and the strategy may be here to stay. Upon its Feb. 28 release, the 20-song album topped the Billboard 200 chart with 197,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, and Lil Baby was gearing up for a summer headlining tour that would serve as a victory lap for his biggest album bow to date.... Read More
June 4, 2020 – The Music Industry’s Next Five Growth Drivers
The risk with trying to imagine what the future might look like is to simply think it is going to be a brighter, shinier version of today. At this precise moment in time, this has perhaps never been truer. The COVID-19 lockdowns were a seismic shock to the economy, one which will take months, possibly years to recover from. Entertainment consumption patterns have been transformed, with some need states becoming void states in an instant, while new ones have filled their place.... Read More
June 4, 2020 – Social Networks See Boosts in Engagement Among Users, but Not Equally
More time spent at home during the pandemic means more time being spent on social media. But not all social platforms are benefiting in the same way. In our latest forecast on time spent with media in the US, we expect adult social network users to log an average of 1 hour, 22 minutes (1:22) per day in 2020, up nearly 7 minutes over last year. For this forecast, we estimated total social network time* spent among adult users,... Read More
June 3, 2020 – College Is About To Change Forever–And Music Education Is Not Immune
What comes to mind when you think about college? The beginning of “adulthood” and freedom from your parents? Long nights studying, dreaming of your future career and perhaps partying (when you should have been studying)? The hope of lifelong friendships, memories and a sense of pride to your alma mater? What happens if all of that is taken away and your experience is reduced to virtual learning? COVID-19 will significantly impact higher education, and music education may be forever changed.... Read More
May 28, 2020 – Why the Future of Livestreaming Isn’t About Size or Popularity
According to the scarcity principle, the harder something is to obtain, the more people will be willing to pay for it. The modern record industry doesn’t seem too keen on this thinking — having roundly dismissed the idea of limiting major new releases to paid-only platforms. But things are already looking a little different in the burgeoning world of livestreaming. The pandemic-inspired popularity of the Instagram Verzuz series is the music-biz story of the moment, with as many as 710,000 people concurrently “tuning in” to watch live battles between the likes of Jill Scott and Erykah Badu;... Read More
May 27, 2020 – Concert Tours Are on Hold, But Sponsored Livestreams Can Save Musicians’ Paychecks
At 5 p.m. on Saturday last week, Diplo and Dillon Francis — A-list DJs and dance music producers — hopped behind their decks to spin a quarantine livestream. In front of a psychedelically oozing virtual background, they played an hour of house and Latin club music. “Are we raving? Are we all raving together?” Diplo shouted to around 250 viewers on Instagram Live at the set’s halfway mark (it was also broadcast on Zoom). For the usual festival headliners,... Read More
May 26, 2020 – What Place Will Virtual Tipping Have in the Post-Pandemic Music Industry?
Andy Bothwell, a Brooklyn-based artist who performs under the moniker Astronautalis, has an online hub that lists links to his music, social media accounts and merch site. But after the coronavirus pandemic cut off the touring income he relies on to pay his bills, he added two new links to the top of the list: His Cash App and Venmo accounts, allowing fans to send him money directly. “I’m curious to see if I keep it there,” he says.... Read More
May 21, 2020 – Nashville Industry Slowly Emerges From Pandemic Mode With Drive-In Shows and Studio Sessions
Studio bookings, concert postponements, drive-in concerts and a rogue political show: As the nation attempts to reopen following a pandemic-related lockdown, the country industry is struggling to keep the music playing in a marketplace with a hazy immediate future. Nashville’s recording studios, which shut down in March, appear ready to open again. Producer Jon Randall (Parker McCollum, Dierks Bentley) has his first session in months on the books for the second week of June, a sign that studio owners and managers believe they have the ability to prevent the virus’... Read More
May 19, 2020 – How Musicians Are Fighting Coronavirus by Turning Merch Into Masks
Like seemingly every other musician on the planet, the members of the New Jersey post-hardcore institution Thursday recently found themselves wondering how to spend their time. The coronavirus pandemic forced them to cancel all of their 2020 shows, and one member was about to be a father. They got together remotely to make plans for the immediate future. “It was a conversation that started from our own needs and self-interests,” frontman Geoff Rickly said.... Read More
May 15, 2020 – Our Coronavirus Security Blanket: Nostalgia For Old Music, Movies And Much More
According to a new study this month by Nielsen/MRC, over half of music listeners are vying for older tunes. Streams of Bob Dylan and Dixie Chicks spiked along with Bob Marley, whose catalog alone surged +23% within the last month. Even today’s top artists like Post Malone are springing for the old, who live-streamed a fundraiser concert solely covering Nirvana. New music just doesn’t bring the same relief as the oldies or “perceived oldies” do.... Read More
