It was an extremely dynamic yr for the music trade. And it’s coming to a detailed.
Let’s have a look again at 2024 and evaluate the most important occasions in music tech, tendencies, promotion, regulation, finance, live shows, and extra:
Present me the cash!
If 2024 proved something, it’s that funding is again
Some notable examples embrace:
The small print of those particular person gross sales and acquisitions are much less necessary than the general story:
Cash is returning to the music house after the dramatic financial downturn in 2022. Because of this, massive gamers are shopping for, horse-trading, and positioning themselves for an period the place confirmed catalogs may be additional leveraged.
So sue me!
In 2024, we acquired momentous lawsuits aplenty
These aren’t your common contests between aggrieved events. A few of these instances will set necessary precedent as we face new frontiers in tech, creativity, and possession:
- Drake is suing his personal label’s parent-company, accusing it of utilizing unethical techniques to spice up a rival observe by Kendrick Lamar. The well-known rap beef now continues in courtroom, with accusations of streaming fraud, shady offers with DSPs, and extra.
- Miley Cyrus famously answered Bruno Mars’ tune “Once I Was Your Man” together with her observe “Flowers.” And now a copyright holder for the Bruno tune is suing Miley for copyright infringement, regardless of Bruno Mars and a lot of the songs’ writers being towards the go well with. It is going to be attention-grabbing to see what musicologists and specialists in copyright should say, as a result of “answering” and “affect” (IMO) usually are not the identical factor as plagiarism and infringement.
- In the same copyright grey space, plenty of musicians didn’t like how the following president of the USA used their tracks throughout his marketing campaign occasions in 2024. They usually sued. On the coronary heart of this kind of case is the query: The place is the road between the straightforward remunerated public broadcast of copyright-protected content material, and an artist’s proper to guard their likeness, picture, model, and fame. And that query isn’t simply necessary for issues of politics, it’s additionally being requested in courtroom instances associated to AI-generated content material.
Talking of…
AI goes to courtroom
“Hey Siri, discover me a great lawyer”
The primary half of 2024 was dominated by discussions about AI’s affect on artistry and creativity. However then did you discover? That discuss kinda flatlined. The hype waned. Fears subsided (considerably).
Then got here the courtroom instances:
- The main labels sued UDIO and SUNO, accusing them of coaching their AI fashions on copyright-protected content material. The case will (probably) settle whether or not that follow is lawful.
- Different instances and laws wrestled with the query of whether or not AI providers and the individuals who use them can make use of voice mimicry, manipulate somebody’s likeness, or in any other case revenue from a recognizable model, picture, or fashion.
- And as AI helps to resurrect Bing Crosby for an end-of-year Christmas collaboration with V of the band BTS, we’re reminded that posthumous releases are going to be a continued authorized and moral battleground.
It’s not a matter of combing by way of the archives of an artist’s unreleased materials for revenue potential. There at the moment are limitless alternatives to make new materials and generate new income streams.
How do you responsibly handle the legacy and property of a deceased movie star within the current and future world of digital resurrections?
(Previous) faculty remains to be in session
Classic FTW
Regardless of radical shifts in music consumption over the previous 25 years, previous varieties and codecs are nonetheless exhibiting resilience:
- In 2024, there’s additionally been a continued uptick in classic audio gross sales (vinyl and cassette), in addition to will increase in classic audio gear gross sales and restore.
App scraps
Platform drama on a world stage
Right here’s the tea:
- TikTok continued to show itself a main participant in music discovery, with its distinctive capability to impression a observe’s chart positions and virality. However not everybody cherished that truth. Or at the least, they didn’t view virality as a good commerce for low fee.
- In the meantime, the USA determined it might drive parent-company ByteDance to promote TikTok, or else face a ban of the app. This regulation is being challenged and we’ll see what occurs if it will get to the Supreme Courtroom.
- Spotify additionally stirred up controversy with an try to pay much less for music when it’s “bundled” with audiobooks.
- After which there was that second mid-year when Spotify’s Daniel Ek stated that the price of making content material was nearing zero, and the whole web exploded in outrage. (Personally, I feel his tweet was taken out of context, however… it made for some good drama).
Gigs go greater
The megastars make a concerted effort
The place are stars turning to maximise their earnings? Concert events. Because the economics of touring stay a problem for lesser-known acts and smaller venues, superstars are driving unprecedented income from dwell occasions:
- Excursions are one factor. Mega-concerts are one other. With acts like Adele and The Weeknd taking part in occasions that draw large crowds that make your common stadium present look quaint.
All of your music on this planet
What’s the most important story of the yr over right here at ReverbNation? We launched UNLIMITED music distribution for our premium members.
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Albums, EPs, singles, remixes, sped-up variations, dwell cuts, demos, collabs, vacation tracks, and extra.
Plus, you’ll get limitless promotion by way of Alternatives, an onramp to main music publishing, and a number of musician instruments!
What massive occasions did I miss?
As I stated above, 2024 was a dynamic yr. A number of change. A number of debate. A number of massive achievements and memorable tales.
Inevitably, as with all end-of-year lists, I’m certain I missed one thing noteworthy.
So be a part of me and Kevin Breuner on this week’s Music Profession Research Group as we recap these information tales from 2024. We’d love so that you can be part of the dialogue on YouTube or Fb, and tell us what you thought was the most important music information of the yr: