Where Do You Get Your Music?

Starbucks has become one of the last in-store physical CD distributers since many of the big box retailers have closed their doors. Starbucks customers are all about brand loyalty and many of them discover new music, artists and applications due to the curators at Starbucks. Albums and books have been placed at the cash wrap for years grabbing the attention of customers while also playing softly in the overhead speakers.

 Starbucks has decided to discontinue carrying physical albums in stores as the format has seen a decline in sales across retailers. Music has long been one of the chain’s top earners outside of coffee and will continue to be a focus of the retailer. Rather than offering albums in the physical format, Starbucks will still curate music for its loyal customers in various formats.

As customers, we are sure to experience more of Starbucks’ themed compilations and single-song download promotions. The retailer has not released their plan for music distribution at this time as the physical sales are to end in March.

Taylor Swift made headlines when she decided to remove all of her music from streaming giant Spotify. This decision was made pending the release of her latest album and led many to question the success of the album and any singles since digital streaming would be significantly impacted. The bold move may have proved to be genius as Swift’s single “Shake It Off”, led among the publishing charts. The song helped lead Sony to its 10^th consecutive leading quarter and held  a steady number 2 on the charts. The charts are comprised of information compiled by Neilsen Music based on radio airplay.

The fourth quarter charts also meant big changes for Big Machine and Reach Music as both companies were in the top 10 for the first time. The songs responsible for the chart placement were Maddie & Tae’s “Girl in a Country Song” and Charli XCX’s “Boom Clap.

Sony/ATV  currently holds 26.2% of the popular music publishing market share with Universal Music Publishing Group holding 15.3% of the market. This shows that major publishing companies still have footing in the industry.

Place that Song

Many of us have discovered new bands after first hearing a song in an Apple commercial, television show or movie. Without music, movies would be a collection of words that fail to convey emotion.  Songs are used in movies and commercials to further paint the picture intended by the writer, imagine Footloose or Jaws without the background music. Music supervisors are the individuals responsible for placing music in a matter that completes the story.

Music placement also serves as an alternative revenue stream for artists and record labels among declining record sales. Once a record has been chosen to sync against a movie, television show or commercial, the terms of use have to be negotiated before the piece is licensed.  Music licensing has helped jumpstart the careers of countless artists.

Moayeri, L. (2014). A Music Supervisor’s Story. Electronic Musician. 30(7), 76-78.

The Art of Music Supervision. (2013). Billboard, 125(44), 39.

YouTube to Become Subscription Service

Video streaming giant, YouTube (YT), recently announced their plan to launch a music subscription service similar to Spotify and Rhapsody only with music videos. The recent decline in music downloads has led to an explosion in the music streaming market. While many currently use YouTube as an on demand video service, the new offerings will introduce new revenue streams for YT and its music partners. The new service is likely feature entire albums as opposed to videos for album singles only.

The biggest difference between the free on demand service and the premium service will be the placement and use of advertisements. Paid users will forgo the advertisements, which play before the start of videos. [Read more here.]

In order for YT to start a premium streaming service, Google (YT’s parent company) had to acquire the proper licenses from publishing companies and music labels.  Once the service is launched, subscription fees will help to support continued licenses and royalty fees. Among the first licenses acquired were those from Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.

While YouTube’s plans for becoming subscription based are welcomed in the industry, the partnership that has been dictated for independent labels and partners is not. Unlike Spotify, Rdio and Rhapsody that treat and pay independent labels in an equal manner to major labels, YT has proposed a lesser pay rate for licenses from independent partners.

The proposed difference in pay has angered many independent labels and publishers as well as raised questions regarding Google’s (YouTube’s parent company) treatment of content owners’ rights. In response to those concerns, Google claims to have paid more than $1 billion dollars in royalties to content owners in the last few years.

In the event that independent labels and YouTube are unable to find applicable terms of use for independent licenses, many independent labels may opt out of the newest streaming service. Opting out of the service will remove content from not only the premium tier of YT but also the free service. This could mean many popular artists such as Adele, Taylor Swift, Arctic Monkeys and Vampire Weekend will no longer have content featured on YouTube. [Read more here and here.]