COMBO Board Member Jamie Krutz sent a few articles that deal with the music business in general. We felt the information contained in these articles could be relevant to all musicians and hope that you will take the time to read them.
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Apple Music Is the World’s Second Most Popular Music Streaming Service Behind Spotify
By Tim Hardwick, MacRumors | According to a new report by Midia Research, ‘Apple Music’ subscribers made up 15% of all streaming service listeners in the global market in the second quarter of 2021, placing it in a distant second place behind Spotify.
Spotify remained the dominant service, commanding more than double that amount with 31% of the worldwide market share, although this represents a small drop from 33% in 2020. Amazon Music and Tencent Music both took a 13% market share, with YouTube Music making up 8% of subscriptions globally.
Spotify remains the DSP with the highest market share (31%), but this was down from 33% in Q2 2020 and 34% in Q2 2019. With Apple Music being a distant second with 15% market share, and Spotify adding more subscribers in the 12 months leading up to Q2 2021 than any other single
DSP, there is no risk of Spotify losing its leading position anytime soon – but the erosion of its share is steady and persistent.
According to the report, Amazon Music again outperformed Spotify in terms of growth (25% versus 20%, respectively), however YouTube Music was the standout performer for the second successive year, growing by more than 50% in the 12 months leading up to the second quarter of 2021.
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/20/apple-music-second-biggest-behind-spotify-globally/
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3 Red Flags For Spotify’s Future
By Leo Sun, Motley Fool
Key Points
● Spotify is still headed for another full-year loss.
● Its growing dependence on exclusive podcasts exposes it to controversial podcasters and an exodus of popular musicians.
● The competitive headwinds are as fierce as ever.
Spotify’s stock (NYSE:SPOT) hit an all-time high of $387.44 last February. But it subsequently lost more than half of its market value amid concerns about the competition, its lack of profits, and rising interest rates.
Spotify might seem cheap after that sell-off at less than three times next year’s sales. But if you’re thinking about buying this beaten-down growth stock, you should review these three red flags for its future first.
1. Spotify is producing weak bottom-line growth
2. Spotify has a growing dependence on podcasts
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Read the stats here:
https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/01/31/3-red-flags-for-spotify-future-podcasts/?source=eptcnnlnk0000002&utm_source=cnnmoney&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article
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Why artists like Bruce Springsteen, John Legend and Bob Dylan are suddenly selling their catalogues
By Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post
John Lennon once loudly screeched:
The best things in life are free. But you can keep ’em for the birds and bees. Now give me money.
The Steve Miller Band put it more aggressively:
Take the money and run.
It seems many of their colleagues are finally getting the message, launching a gold rush for the music catalogues of the world’s most iconic names. Bruce Springsteen. Bob Dylan. Stevie Nicks. Paul Simon. Tina Turner. They have all cashed in. David Bowie’s estate sold his catalogue earlier this year; John Legend, earlier this month. And many, many more, all in the past two years.
But why? And why now? Is it really just all about the money, or is something deeper at play here? We decided to take a look.
Whatever the reasons, the sales have the potential to shift power in the music industry for decades to come. Not all deals are the same, and the details aren’t always publicly disclosed. But here’s an overview of what’s going on here.
What exactly are these musicians selling?
First, it’s important to understand that for most songs, there are two distinct copyrights. There’s the song composition (the arrangement of the music and the lyrics), and there’s the tangible sound recording of the music (known as the “master”).
Often, these copyrights are owned by different entities. Let’s examine the case of Taylor Swift. Her original contract with the label Big Machine was common for a young artist: It gave the label the copyright to her sound recordings, while she retained the copyright to her compositions.
This creates two streams of revenue, but it also requires the owners of both copyrights to sign off on any deal to license the song.
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What does this mean if your name is not Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen or Tina Turner?
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It may also come down to taxes. In 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law a tax cut that allows musicians to treat catalogue sales as capital gains rather than ordinary income, which is taxed at a far higher rate.
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Read the whole article here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/01/19/music-catalogs-sale/
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Graham Nash and India Arie join Neil Young’s Spotify boycott over ‘problematic’ Rogan
By Christi Carras, LA Times | Two more musicians, Graham Nash and India Arie, have vowed to remove their music from Spotify after Neil Young renounced the streaming platform last week.
Nash declared his support for his Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate Tuesday after “having heard the COVID disinformation spread by Joe Rogan on Spotify.” Young previously pulled much of his music library from the app after Spotify failed to cut ties with Rogan, a controversial podcast host known for fueling conspiracy theories about COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
Read the rest of the story here:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2022-02-01/spotify-neil-young-joe-rogan-graham-nash-india-arie
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Why did Spotify choose Joe Rogan over Neil Young? Hint: It’s not a music company.
By Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post | In one corner was Joe Rogan, the stand-up comedian and former “Fear Factor” host turned provocative podcaster.
In the other stood Neil Young, the multi-Grammy-winning rock legend with a lifelong passion for progressive causes.
The battle lasted two days, and Rogan won without making a peep.
Young started the scuffle when he posted a letter to his website Monday, addressed to his manager and an executive at his record label, demanding that his music catalogue be removed from Spotify in response to “fake information about vaccines.”
Specifically, Young cited Joe Rogan — who hosts “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast — and has suggested healthy, young people shouldn’t get vaccinated. After catching the coronavirus, Rogan also praised ivermectin, a medicine used to kill parasites in animals and humans that has no proven anti-viral benefits. “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he wrote. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
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The speed of Spotify’s decision to sideline Young was jarring. So why did the company do it?
The answer is simple: This isn’t really a story about Rogan or Young. It’s a story about Spotify. And, despite public perception, Spotify isn’t a music company. It’s a tech company looking to maximize profits.
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Read the whole story here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/01/28/spotify-joe-rogan-neil-young/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_10
Apple Music, Spotify’s Future, Artists Selling Their Catalogues, Spotify Boycott, Spotify Chose Joe Rogan over Neil Young
