When a year is wrapping up, I’m always partial to looking ahead, not back. But if there’s one thing I learned in 2021, it’s to never predict the future.Nonetheless, when my friends at Hypebot asked me where I thought the industry was going, I couldn’t help but whip out my crystal ball.Here are two music business 2022 predictions:1. The Hybrid Event Becomes Industry StandardThe livestreaming industry exploded due to the pandemic. The genie is out of the bottle and there is no putting it back in. As live events return, consumers and artists are proceeding cautiously. 2022 will shatter the record for most events and shows designed with a hybrid mentality. The people in the crowd IRL will be joined by home and mobile viewers which will drive dual production visions and set new standards for what is possible in hybrid production design. Livestreaming will continue to become more and more appealing to consumers and creators alike.2. The Era of Predatory Record Label Practices Is Forced To Come To An EndWeb3 represents a new ethos where fans can support artists directly and share in the upside. Web2 companies like Kickstarter and IndieGogo helped shape it, as did social media with its ability to connect fans and artists at scale. The streaming economy made it possible for any artist to release a song from their bedroom while digital distributors like UnitedMasters, Indify, STEM and Royal continue to promote the message that artists need to own their masters. Culture is no longer reliant on big media, MTV, and radio, which were controlled by the labels. With Web3, the masses can fund the classics and the non-transparent accounting and predatory deal practices of labels are no longer accepted at face value. For labels to remain relevant, they will need to change their models. I believe they will.What are your predictions for the future?And what are you doing to best position yourself for where we’re headed?I want to hear from you! And I’m going to post my favorite responses on my IG story, so let ‘er rip.
BEATS
Beyond Livestreaming: Musicians Chart a More Complex FutureLivestreaming will be a permanent feature of the musical landscape going forward, so it’s not like the skills so many of us learned will go to waste; but reality has also set in. Starting last summer, we all saw fewer people on our livestreams, YouTube Premieres and other digital releases, and I don’t see that changing. (Newcity)
Logic’s Song ‘1-800-273-8255’ Helped Lower Suicide Rates, Study SaysThe study concludes that Logic’s suicide hotline awareness song has been the “broadest and most sustained suicide prevention messaging directly connected to a story of hope and recovery,” lead author Thomas Niederkrotenthaler writes. The song progresses through what a suicide hotline call feels like, leaving people with encouraging messages of hope. (Digital Music News)
Three Web3 Principles That Will Permeate Online Culture in the Next 10 YearsThere’s a reason why innovations get picked up when they do. Part of it is technological maturity, but a much harder to see convergence of trends is often key to things taking off when they do. (Bas Grasmayer)
Fan No-Shows Surge to an Estimated 40% Ahead of Packed 2022 Concert ScheduleDespite the substantial number of tour announcements and ticket sales that recent months have brought – Live Nation said that it had sold north of 22 million passes to 2022 events as of mid-October – fan no-shows are becoming increasingly common at gigs, according to a new report. (Digital Music News)
Harry Styles ‘Love on Tour’ Grosses $95 Million, Collects $1 Million for Charity Partners After 42 Sold-Out ShowsThe numbers are in on Harry Styles’ Love on Tour trek. Over 42 U.S. shows, some 720,000 tickets were sold, according to Live Nation, grossing just shy of $95 million. The outing also raised over $1 million for non-profit partners — nearly the same amount in half as many dates as his previous tour, in 2018. (Variety)
Telcos Have Recognized That Music Is A Major Passion Point For ConsumersIn the years since, telco x music streaming tie ups have become a common feature in the digital music space across a plethora of telcos and streamers globally, both with established players like Spotify and fledgling music services in emerging markets. (Music Business Worldwide)
Year on TikTok 2021 Music ReportTikTok is a playground where artists and creators can interact, combining their unique sensibilities and talents to propel trends to the forefront of culture. Stars can preview new songs to a legion of hungry fans, who jump at the opportunity to create content inspired by a musical element or favorite lyric. (Newsroom)
Midem Is Finished, Say Mbw SourcesBLURMidem, the historic annual music industry expo and gathering, will not be returning in 2022 – or for the foreseeable future. That’s according to senior industry sources, who tell MBW that owner Reed Midem has decided to scrap and “permanently mothball” the event. (Music Business Worldwide)
Utopia Acquisition Spree Continues, As It Buys ROSTR And Fortunes To Launch New Creator Services UnitUtopia says that its new Creator Services unit “will provide a single common interface for songwriters, composers, artists, performers, and professionals to understand their audience and find monetization opportunities for their creative rights and other endeavours.” (Music Business Worldwide)
Universal To Develop ‘Virtual Identities’ And NFTs For Its Artists In Partnership With Avatar Tech Firm GeniesUMG has inked an expansive global partnership with “avatar technology company” Genies to develop avatars and digital wearables for UMG’s artist roster, building on what it says are the “companies’ early collaborations to bring recording artists into the metaverse”. (Music Business Worldwide)
Tinder is Partnering With Spotify to Launch a New ‘Music Mode’ FeatureTinder is partnering with Spotify to launch a new “Music Mode” feature where users will hear a 30-second looped preview of a potential match’s chosen song while checking out their profile. Users who link their Spotify accounts and add a chosen song, called an “Anthem,” to their Tinder profiles will be able to enter Music Mode. (Tech Crunch)
How Much Does Mariah Carey Make Every Christmas? Here’s a Quick BreakdownExtrapolating that data out to 15 million US streams per week in December means Carey might see 71 million streams of “All I Want For Christmas is You” this year. Of course, streaming revenue is separate from royalties, too. Here’s some quick math on a hypothetical situation if Carey were to generate all 71 million streams per individual streaming service. (Digital Music News)
Roku Channel Adds 11 Vevo Linear Streaming ChannelsThe Vevo lineup on the Roku Channel in the U.S. includes: Vevo Pop, Vevo R&B, Vevo Hip Hop, Vevo Reggaeton & Trap, Vevo Country, Vevo Latino, Vevo ’70s, Vevo ’80s, Vevo ’90s, Vevo 2K, and Vevo Holiday, a holiday-themed channel available through New Year’s Eve. (Variety)
DMX, Miles Davis NFTs Among Inaugural Collection From Black, Female-Owned Blockchain StartupA new blockchain technology company spotlighting creator equity is rolling out its first series of non-fungible tokens — a collection that includes five unreleased tracks from DMX and a photograph of jazz legend Miles Davis. (Variety)
Dua Lipa’s ‘90s-Inspired Puma Collection Features a New Butterfly LogoFrom making her runway debut and launching a curated newsletter, Dua Lipa knows exactly how to win us over with surprises, and this time was no exception. On Wednesday, Dec. 8, the Future Nostalgia star announced via Instagram that she will be launching her first-ever capsule collection with Puma. (Nylon)
Tyler, the Creator Chats Golf le Fleur’s New High-end Direction, Expanding Into Beauty and the Late Virgil Abloh’s Helping HandThe line includes $200 round collar short-sleeved button-ups; $250 double-pleated shorts; $495 mohair cardigans, and a $1,100 leather jacket (in partnership with Schott NYC) on the highest end, along with $305 loafers and accessories that range from a $35 hair pick to $250 sunglasses. (WWD)
BYTES
On this week's episode of How Music Charts, Chartmetrics welcomes DICE’s president Russ Tannen. The podcast covers what DICE is all about and how they are currently helping the music industry transition back into live music after the pandemic.
After the tragedies at Travis Scott’s November 5th concert, the music industry was shocked. If you haven't already, go check out Charlamagne Tha God’s new interview with Travis. The two sit down for a little under an hour to discuss what happened that night. You can find it here.
Stationhead is an app that seems to be the future of live social audio where users can broadcast live, take callers, stream music, and make money anywhere in the world. The app has helped drive millions of streams by hosting unofficial listening parties – often with the participation of the artists themselves – and is launching a web version.
Towards the end of Summer 2021, Walker Hayes released his EP, Country Stuff . Little did he know, his song ‘Fancy Like’ was going to blow up! The artist’s song led to both a massively popular TikTok trend and a commercial deal with Applebees. It is great to see an organic relationship develop into a successful campaign.
This week's newsletter was carefully curated by the Nue Agency staff and our editor Rachel Meisner. If you think we missed something this week or have any suggestions/comments for next week's newsletter, let us know!