This is a page of further resources to accompany Music Ally’s talk at the Circulart conference in Colombia. But don’t worry if you’ve found it some other way: you’re very welcome too!
Trend 1: Streaming Growth
The latest global, official industry figures come from the IFPI’s Global Music Report, which was published in March 2021. Here’s our written coverage of that, and here’s our podcast about it.
We also have an article that we keep updated with the latest subscriber figures for the big streaming services.
We went big on covering the recent UK parliamentary inquiry into the economics of music streaming. Here’s our analysis of its final report; here’s a free ebook compiling our blow-by-blow coverage; and here’s our podcast discussing the inquiry’s recommendations.
You may also enjoy our Music Ally TV Show episodes with Broken Record founder Tom Gray, and with BPI boss Geoff Taylor, plus our podcast discussing the launch of Spotify’s Loud & Clear transparency website.
Trend 2: High-potential markets
A good way to navigate our coverage of particular topics is through our tag index pages. For high-potential markets, for example, you can see our past articles on China, India and Africa.
We also recently published one of our Sandbox Guide reports on new territories, and how to decide where to take artists next.
Trend 3: Live’s hybrid future
Here’s our tag index for livestreaming, where you can find our articles about startups, concerts and trends in that space.
We have also published a Sandbox report on Twitch and music, and (earlier in the pandemic) a report on where lockdown livestreams might go next.
In April, the Music Ally Japan Digital Summit included this panel on livestreaming, with plenty of opinions. And opinions were not in short supply either in our recent podcast interview with Tim Westergren, boss of livestreaming startup Sessions (and before that, of streaming service Pandora).
Trend 4: The short-video explosion
You’ll find lots of stories in our tag indexes on TikTok and Short Video, while our recent Sandbox Guide to Influencer Marketing has plenty of ‘tok knowledge too.
We have put out a few podcast episodes on short video recently, including a show about turning TikTok virality into streams, follows and fans; another about YouTube Shorts; and another about Indian short-video app Moj.
Trend 5: Listening beyond music – podcasts and live audio
Try our tag indexes for podcasts and live audio to browse our recent news coverage of these topics. There are also Sandbox reports on live audio and the rise of music podcasts to read.
Podcasts about podcasts? We’ve got ‘em! Here’s a show discussing Sony Music’s podcasting strategy, and here’s one looking at Apple and Spotify’s competition around paid podcast subscriptions.
We also put out a show talking about Spotify’s move into live audio. And from a bit further back, in 2019, here’s a Music Ally / BPI report on podcasts and the music industry.
Trend 6: Music in the metaverse
We’ve been writing a lot about all things metaverse-related. Start with our tag indexes for games, virtual reality and augmented reality, as well as for Fortnite and Roblox specifically.
Music Ally recently presented a session on music and gaming at our China Digital Summit: you can watch that here. You may also enjoy the report we co-published with the BPI about the potential of AR, VR and SR [Synthetic Reality] for the music industry.
We also have a ‘Need to Know’ video primer on Roblox – good if you’re completely new to that platform – and a podcast episode discussing its recent growth and music strategy.
Trend 7: NFTs
Our tag index for NFTs collects our news coverage of this emerging space, and we also have a Need To Know primer on the topic, to get you up to speed if you’re new to it.
This Sandbox report on NFTs may also be useful to get you thinking about what they can mean for artists. Meanwhile, this interview with music NFTs startup Fanaply from our China Digital Summit has plenty of food for thought too. Finally, there’s a podcast episode on getting beyond the hype of NFTs to listen to.
Trend 8: The Climate Emergency
Use our tag index to browse our growing number of stories about the music industry and the climate emergency. We also hosted an episode of the Music Ally TV Show focusing on this topic, with MQA and sustainability expert Dr. Allen Hershkowitz.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools :: Wyng
Through Music Ally’s internal marketing campaign tracking, we’ve recently discovered an interesting website by the…