STREAMING WARS: MUSIC REVENUE UP & THE TRILLION-DOLLAR TV BATTLE

With 79% of music industry revenue coming from streaming and digital sales at an all-time low, it’s clear the future of entertainment is via subscriptions.

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But in a world where everything is rented, questions must be asked over budgets, and the evolution of content consumption.

THE NEXT BIG THING

When Apple announced the launch of its dedicated music subscription service in June 2015, many pondered whether the end of iTunes was in sight. Though consumers were favoring services like Spotify over buying songs individually, it appeared that Apple would always hold a flag for its ailing music and video store, which generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Fast-forward five years and the landscape couldn’t be more different, with iTunes all-but-removed from macOS and the iTunes Store no longer the powerhouse it once was, with Apple aggressively pushing its successors - dedicated Apple Music, Apple Books, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV applications - instead.

A new report from the Recording Industry Association of America sheds further light on the situation, showing that streaming services are in control, with digital sales hitting their lowest point since 2006, signaling a shift in the way consumers purchase and consume content. In 2019, revenue from streaming music grew by a quarter, generating more than $11.1 billion across the year, with paid streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music accounting for $6.8 billion of that revenue. The rest comes from adsupported services like YouTube and Spotify’s free music tier, which has remained a popular choice amongst Gen Z.