In 2024, more musicians than ever will create and release music. In fact, a new report has found that more music is now released in a single day than in the entire year of 1989.
The report was published by MusicRadarwho spoke to music business economist Will Page (former Spotify chief economist) about the changing dynamics of the industry. “Today (in a single day) more music is published than in the calendar year of 1989,” Page explained. “More of that music is made by the artists themselves, which means there's even more demand for music production software.”
It's true, the increase in musicians goes hand in hand with the increase in music creation software and music distribution platforms. Now that high-quality recordings can be made from the palm of your hand, and sharing is as easy as tapping with a finger, an unprecedented number of people have the ability to become active musicians and content creators.
According Report “State of the economy of music creators” by MIDiA, The global number of music creators was 75.9 million in 2023, a 12% increase from 2022. By 2030, that number is expected to rise to a whopping 198.2 million.
So what does this mean for music creators? Well, for starters, it means more independence, which can be a good or bad thing. Musicians now have more creative and personal freedoms, but they also face reduced incomes thanks to microincomes paid by streaming platforms. Meanwhile, the cost of music creation is being shifted to creators, as more and more software, plugins and other tools shift to subscription-based models. According to MIDiA, “a quarter of software, sound and services revenue” in 2022 came from subscriptions, and that figure is expected to reach a third in 2030.
All of this bodes well for tech companies and content platforms that benefit from an abundance of cheap music, but it provides no protection for those who depend on music for a living. Steve Heithecker of the Pyramind Institute addressed this phenomenon and explained: “Software companies have followed Wall Street's lead. Recurring revenue is very attractive right now… People also often forget that they have subscribers and then it's like free money for these companies when they auto-renew.”
Meanwhile, there's really nothing “like free money” for music creators; rather, there is simply an industry that continually innovates new ways to exploit them.
But as MusicRadar noted, musicians are unenthusiastic about the declining revenue opportunities and rising expenses of subscription models, with a sense of “fatigue and growing resentment.” This imbalance could lead to a more equitable system, with some calling for better forms of recurring payments (like rent-to-own instead of subscriptions), as well as better protections and higher reimbursements for musicians in general.
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