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 largest occasions in music tech, tendencies, promotion, legislation, finance, live shows, and extra:
Present me the cash!
If 2024 proved something, it’s that funding is again
Some notable examples embrace:
The main points of those particular person gross sales and acquisitions are much less vital than the general story:
Cash is returning to the music area after the dramatic financial downturn in 2022. In consequence, large gamers are shopping for, horse-trading, and positioning themselves for an period the place confirmed catalogs might be additional leveraged.
So sue me!
In 2024, we obtained momentous lawsuits aplenty
These aren’t your common contests between aggrieved events. A few of these instances will set vital 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 court docket, with accusations of streaming fraud, shady offers with DSPs, and extra.
- Miley Cyrus famously answered Bruno Mars’ tune “After I Was Your Man” along 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 swimsuit. It is going to be attention-grabbing to see what musicologists and consultants in copyright need to say, as a result of “answering” and “affect” (IMO) usually are not the identical factor as plagiarism and infringement.
- In an identical copyright grey space, numerous musicians didn’t like how the subsequent president of the USA used their tracks throughout his marketing campaign occasions in 2024. And so they sued. On the coronary heart of the sort of case is the query: The place is the road between the easy 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 vital for issues of politics, it’s additionally being requested in court docket instances associated to AI-generated content material.
Talking of…
AI goes to court docket
“Hey Siri, discover me 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 court docket instances:
- The key 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 means 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 celeb within the current and future world of digital resurrections?
(Previous) college continues to be in session
Classic FTW
Regardless of radical shifts in music consumption over the previous 25 years, previous kinds and codecs are nonetheless displaying 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 tools gross sales and restore.
App scraps
Platform drama on a worldwide stage
Right here’s the tea:
- TikTok continued to show itself a major participant in music discovery, with its distinctive potential to influence a observe’s chart positions and virality. However not everybody beloved that reality. Or at the very least, they didn’t view virality as a good commerce for low cost.
- In the meantime, the USA determined it might power parent-company ByteDance to promote TikTok, or else face a ban of the app. This legislation 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 and pay much less for music when it’s “bundled” with audiobooks.
- After which there was that second mid-year when Spotify’s Daniel Ek mentioned that the price of making content material was nearing zero, and the complete web exploded in outrage. (Personally, I believe 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? Live shows. Because the economics of touring stay a problem for lesser-known acts and smaller venues, superstars are driving unprecedented earnings from dwell occasions:
- Excursions are one factor. Mega-concerts are one other. With acts like Adele and The Weeknd enjoying occasions that draw huge crowds that make your common stadium present look quaint.
All of your music on the planet
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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 means of Alternatives, an onramp to main music publishing, and a bunch of musician instruments!
What large occasions did I miss?
As I mentioned above, 2024 was a dynamic yr. Numerous change. Numerous debate. Numerous large achievements and memorable tales.
Inevitably, as with all end-of-year lists, I’m certain I missed one thing noteworthy.
So be part of me and Kevin Breuner on this week’s Music Profession Examine 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 largest music information of the yr:
