Page 80 - Computer Power User - February 2017

Q&A With John Titlow

The State Of

Streaming Music Services

You only need to let a few findings from a January-released report from BuzzAngle Music sink in to understand the significant shift
the U.S. music industry is undergoing. While overall consumption of music rose about 5% between 2015 and 2016, consumption
of audio streams climbed a whopping 82.6% to reach about 250 billion streams in 2016. Arguably more important, the percentage
of overall streams tied to paid music subscription services (Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, etc.) reached 76% in 2016, up from 62% in
2015. Conversely, physical album sales (down 11.7%), digital album sales (down 19.4%), and overall album sales (down 15.6%) all
fell in 2016. In fact, audio streams on an average day in 2016 topped song sales for the entire year (734 million).

Despite the encouraging growth for paid subscription streams, concerns still exist. For the music labels, there’s an issue
concerning the difference in payouts artists see from subscription services compared to those from free, ad-supported options
such as Spotify’s free listening tier. For subscription services, there’s still a matter of turning a profit, something the major
players reportedly have yet to do. John Paul Titlow has covered the music-technology sector for years, including for Billboard,
Noisey, and Esquire. A musician himself, Titlow recently detailed for Fast Company seven ways the streaming music industry
will change this year. One prediction calls for at least one major service not surviving the year. We spoke with Titlow about the
impact music streaming is having on the industry; how home speakers/digital assistants such as the Amazon Echo could alter
consumers’ views about paying for music; the growing importance that playlists are assuming; and more. (You can read our
entire interview at www.computerpoweruser.com/24058 )

: Until relatively recently, some that growth trickles down to artists. In
Q people wondered if the music some cases it does. If you’re a big-name
industry as we’ve known it would be artist, you’re seeing some real money now
around much longer. Now, some people from streaming. But if you’re a smaller,
are saying music streaming has given independent artist or a mid-tier artist,
the industry new life. Where do you see you’re still wondering how this is all going
the industry? to play out for you. You might land on
a Spotify playlist and see your plays go
: In general, I’d say overall there through the roof, and you might generate
JTare reasons for promise, and there some interest and that might help you
are reasons to be uncertain. Overall, plot your tour or something like that,
music consumption is increasing. I think but the bigger question continues to
we saw an almost 5% increase in music loom of how does this new kind of music
consumption overall in 2016. That’s economy ultimately fare for especially the
according to BuzzAngle Music, which just smaller and middle-class artist?
put out a report. Of course, that’s driven I will say that there seems to be
largely by streaming. Audio streaming a growing emphasis on the part of the
reached a new high, something like streaming platforms to cater to the needs
250 billion streams last year. So clearly some growth after years and years of of artists, or at least try to. Pandora is
people are listening to more music. Sales decline. I think from its vantage point, busy reinventing itself as we speak, but
of physical albums have been declining things are starting to turn around, but you can tell from its acquisitions at the
for quite a while, but we’ve reached a again, there are multiple players in what end of 2015 of things like Ticketfly and
point in the past year or two where the we can call the “music industry” today. Next Big Sound that it’s focused on
record industry is finally able to report There are questions around whether that, and I think it’s kind of in its DNA

80 February2017 / www.computerpoweruser.com