An extremely dynamic 12 months for the music business is coming to an in depth.
Let’s have a look again at 2024 and evaluate the largest occasions in music tech, developments, promotion, regulation, finance, concert events, and extra:
Present me the cash!
If 2024 proved something, it’s that funding is again
Some notable examples embody:
The main points of those particular person gross sales and acquisitions are much less essential than the general story:
Following the dramatic financial downturn in 2022, cash is returning to the music area. And 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 acquired momentous lawsuits aplenty
And these aren’t your common contests between aggrieved events. A few of these instances will set essential 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 monitor 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’ music “Once I Was Your Man” together with her monitor “Flowers.” And now a copyright holder for the Bruno music is suing Miley for copyright infringement, regardless of Bruno Mars and a lot of the songs’ writers being in opposition to the swimsuit. It is going to be fascinating to see what musicologists and consultants in copyright must say, as a result of “answering” and “affect” (IMO) aren’t the identical factor as plagiarism and infringement.
- In an analogous copyright grey space, plenty of musicians didn’t like how the subsequent president of the USA used their tracks throughout his marketing campaign occasions in 2024. They usually sued. On the coronary heart of such a 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 status. And that query isn’t simply essential 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 speak kinda flatlined. The hype waned. The fears subsided (considerably).
Then got here the courtroom 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 observe 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 model.
- 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 now 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 superstar within the current and future world of digital resurrections?
(Previous) college remains to be in session
Classic FTW
Regardless of radical shifts in music consumption over the previous 25 years, outdated 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 chief participant in music discovery, with its distinctive capacity to impression a monitor’s chart positions and virality. However not everybody cherished that reality. Or at the very least didn’t see the chance for virality as a good commerce for low fee.
- In the meantime, the USA determined it will power 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 Court docket.
- 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 mentioned that the price of creating content material was nearing zero, and your entire web exploded in outrage. (Personally, I feel his tweet was taken out of context, however… it made for some good drama).
Gigs go larger
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 stay 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 the planet
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What large occasions did I miss?
As I mentioned above, 2024 was a dynamic 12 months. A lot of change. A lot of debate. A lot of large achievements and memorable tales. Inevitably, as with all end-of-year lists, I’m certain I missed one thing noteworthy. So lemme know!
Be 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 largest music information of the 12 months.
