What’s next in digital music: more streaming (but not live gigs), fewer downloads
Music executives discuss fan likes and dislikes (such as single-platform releases, Beyoncé), the power of radio, Spotify and social media influencers, and why most musicians can’t make a living now no one pays for music
How digital music will be shared and consumed in the future took centre stage at the recent New York Media Festival. The four-day event, which took place in downtown New York at the end of last month , gathered representatives from the music, games and television industries, to discuss and predict how digital entertainment is likely to evolve in the next decade.
Media streaming is predicted to replace downloads as the main way we will consume digital music in the future. Panellists agreed there would be a shake-out in the streaming industry over the next 10 years, with some companies failing, and others emerging as winners (though no one was willing to name names.)
In terms of consumers, the accessibility of the music was a talking point – companies want exclusives on songs, but fans don’t like releases to be limited to one streaming company, and feel music should be available on all platforms. Fans aren’t happy if their favourite artist is only available to stream on, for instance, Tidal, even though they are happy to subscribe to a single television channel such as HBO to watch a particular show.
Consumers are confused by the occasional exclusive release, such as Beyoncé’s Lemonade on Tidal, notes Kathy Baker, senior vice-president of digital marketing at Columbia Records.