What is the situation like at Spotify?

Music streaming is a highly competitive business. Numerous providers are getting involved – even though the market is already bursting at the seams. The undisputed market leader is Spotify with 44% of the global market share in the first quarter of 2021. Apple Music is in second place with 18%. In the US as in many other countries, music streaming accounts for a good 80% of total revenues. So things are going pretty well for this now firmly established, but still quite young, growth market.

The IPO

This enormous growth potential has of course not escaped the investors. When the Spotify stock went public in 2018, it exceeded all expectations. The set reference price of $ 132 was three hours after the IPO at $ 165.90. Today, a share with fluctuations costs between 230 and 240 dollars. The then valuation of $ 23 billion stands today alongside a market capitalization of $ 43.21 billion.  Spotify is growing rapidly.

The balance sheets

However, these stock market valuations have little to do with economic reality. In fact, Spotify posted losses of EUR 20 million in the second quarter of 2021. In the company’s history, there were only five quarters in which the figures were in the black. Otherwise, Spotify’s balance sheets were always in deficit. Investors see the company’s future potential. Incidentally, it was similar with Netflix, whose profits are now constantly increasing.

The balance sheets

For the third quarter of this year, however, Spotify is planning large investments – in its own securities. The Swedish company plans to buy back its own shares worth one billion dollars. Spotify therefore continues to believe in its own growth and wants to profit from it as much as possible. Of course, the company’s own demand will also provide a positive impetus, which should cause the share price to rise further. Considering that the share had already touched the 350-dollar mark in the spring, the buyback should definitely pay off.

The investments

However, as economically sensible as this buyback may be in the long term, with a deficit balance sheet and so many open construction sites, the investment might have been more sensible elsewhere. The widely announced podcast offensive, for example, seems to be faltering – especially since non-exclusive podcasts on Spotify are still not monetized. Payments to artists are also much discussed. It is not just that other services pay significantly more generous revenues to musicians – the distribution model itself has also come under criticism.

The payout

There is no fixed equivalent for a stream at Spotify. Instead, the subscription income is distributed proportionally to their contribution to the entire streaming contingent. Big artists benefit enormously, while smaller artists only get the crumbs.

Is the stock market to blame?

It’s a common problem: the stock market distorts economic metrics. The price valuation of a company overshadows realistic valuations and balance sheets. Instead of hoping for small returns, a kind of game of chance is operated on the entire valuation, whereby the success of a company depends largely on its “reputation” among investors. This puts Spotify under enormous pressure – the entire strategy must be geared towards the share price.

What’s next?

Of course, going public also has advantages: the company’s liquidity is secured. Artists don’t have to worry about suddenly collapsing revenues, projects and collaborations can be financed and the platform expanded. If, however, little or nothing of this reaches artists and consumers, all the overwhelming reviews and successes will unfortunately bring nothing at all to those who ultimately should.

We know the feeling all too well from insurance companies or mobile phone subscriptions: You realize that a different provider has a better offer in store and you could save a lot of money, but it’s just too much work, so you end up staying with your current provider. A lot of musicians and record labels go through the same experience when considering a switch from one distributor or record label to another. Many shy away from the manual effort and are unsure whether the streaming numbers and playlist placements would really be retained after a switch.

In this article, we will show you what to keep in mind when it comes to a catalog migration and introduce the elegant solution iGroove has recently developed.

Metadata

We have already pointed out on multiple occasions how important metadata are in the music industry and why they represent an artist’s calling card. Everything begins with metadata – and a catalog migration is no exception. They ensure that your releases are shown on the DSPs exactly as they were before the distributor change and that your fans don’t even notice the migration.

So, first, you need to compile all the metadata for the releases in your catalog. You can find these in your distributor’s system (with some luck, they might even have an export feature) or you can get them from your record label.

After exporting the metadata from your old distributor, you then need to manually register the metadata for each release with your new distributor.

Metadata includes:

• Release and song names
• Song length
• Artist names/information about features, etc.
• Composers, lyricists, etc.
• EAN
• ISCRs

In addition, the WAV-files for each of your releases, of course, need to be uploaded again. Furthermore, in order to ensure that the releases end up on the right profiles, the Spotify and Apple Music artist IDs must be added, as well (provided your distributer offers this option). Only when all this information is stored on the database can your distributor transfer the releases to the different stores.

Delivery and takedown

Your new distributor might get in touch with the DSPs in advance to announce the migration of your catalog. Once you have gathered all your data, the distributor will forward them to the stores. About two or three days after that, they will check if all the releases were successfully and properly delivered. On Spotify, they also need to check whether the streaming numbers were transferred correctly. If this is not the case, your new distributor will contact Spotify and find out why.

Only when everything is checked and found to be in order, the takedown call is made to the old distributor. This means that for a short period of time, your releases will be show up twice on the platforms. But this only lasts about 2-3 days, provided that your old distributor immediately initiates the takedown. To make sure that your releases don’t appear twice for too long, it would be wise to get in touch with the previous distributor ahead of time to get information on the process and to announce the upcoming takedown.

If everything goes smoothly, a catalog migration should take about a week. But since a lot of different parties are involved (artists, new and old distributor, various stores), delays do occur sometimes.

iGroove’s solution

More and more artists are switching over to iGroove with their catalogs, and to keep the potential error sources, delays, and manual effort to a minimum for us, we have developed the catalog-migration engine. It is based on the following components:

Release importer

Instead having to laboriously gather the metadata one by one, the release importer will take over this task by automatically searching for all the important data in the different stores and directly importing them into your account. To do that, we only need you to submit a list with the EAN codes for your releases.

Once the release importer has compiled everything, all you need to do is upload the audio files and your releases will all be registered properly.

If your previous distributor is a major one, we also offer the option of directly importing all the data that was exported from there, including the WAV-files.

Metadata verification

If the data are delivered directly, our system will independently check whether all the listed metadata (e.g., composers, lyricists, info about explicit content, etc.) match the current data in the music stores. If it detects any discrepancies, a ticket is automatically created and will be handled by our team. If need be, they will confer with the client to get the differences corrected as quickly as possible.

The system also checks if the uploaded audio files have the same length as the songs currently available at the stores. The process is important for the retention of the streaming numbers, since this calls for identical audio files. If the system finds anything remiss here, we will ask the client if there might have been a mistake in the upload (e.g., two tracks got mixed up).

Compiling of artist IDs

Artist IDs guarantee that the releases (including future ones) end up on the correct artist profiles on Spotify and Apple Music. Since the process of searching and compiling all the IDs in a catalog can take up a lot of time, our system will take care of the job for our clients.

Transfer to music stores

Once all the metadata is compiled correctly and the audio files are uploaded, our system will transfer the releases to the selected music stores at hyperspeed and automatically check if they have arrived. To allow our musicians to always stay up-to-date, we have created a dashboard where you can follow the progress in real time. If an error occurs in the transfer (e. g., a connection problem), our system will automatically detect this, and the process will be restarted an hour later.

Review of streaming numbers

Before the transfer, our system saves the current Spotify streaming numbers for each song. Once the releases are transferred to Spotify, our system matches the numbers and verifies that they were carried over correctly. Artists can check the progress of this review in real time, as well, and see which releases have had their streaming numbers fully transferred. Thus, it is guaranteed that the streaming numbers carry over and the playlists placements are retained, as well.

Takedown verification

The dashboard shows the artist when a release is ready and the takedown can be requested from the old distributor. In addition, the system monitors whether this request was carried out, and most importantly, whether everything was really taken down. Sometimes, the old distributor might just take down 20 out of 23 songs, for instance. The system will detect this, as well. Thus, our users can always keep track of what releases can be taken down, which ones have already been taken down, and which ones are still pending.

iGroove Extra

As mentioned before, we save the Spotify streaming numbers for each individual song. This allows the artists to request the takedown of a release from their old distributor directly upon its transfer – without having to wait for the streaming numbers to be transferred over, as well. In case they are not automatically transferred, we can send Spotify a report with the saved data so that the numbers can swiftly be corrected. Thus, the duration of time in which the releases appear twice is minimized.

Conclusion

A catalog migration might not be a walk in the park, but if you keep a few points in mind, it doesn’t have to be a rock climb either. If you are convinced that you will get better terms and conditions from a different distributor, then the one-time manual effort is well worth it. If you decide to switch over to iGroove, most of the manual effort will be taken off your hands, many potential sources of error will be eliminated, and you will always remain up-to-date on the current status of your migration.

Every now and again, the same discussion keeps coming up: Are albums still relevant in the streaming era or is the music industry today only concerned with singles and their placement in the playlists? What doesn’t get talked about as much, although it might very well be fueling this waning interest in albums, is the question “Are albums nowadays simply too long?” Do more songs really give fans added value or are they merely a clumsy attempt to increase profit?

Longer albums in the streaming era

If you’re a rap fan, it is likely that you recently had to push through Kanye’s and Drake’s albums (27 and 21 songs, respectively). These are only two examples of current albums that cross the 20-song mark. Overly long albums have obviously been around long before the streaming era. In the rap scene, especially, albums in the 90s often contained 20 or more songs (as well as a lot of interludes). At some point after the turn of the millennium, however, albums generally became shorter – after all, you earn the same amount of money from a CD no matter if it had 11 or 22 songs on it.

Streaming has flipped this trend on its head. On one side, artists no longer have to limit in their album length to fit the media of CDs or vinyl. On the other, more songs often also mean more streams. Whether more songs also mean better quality is a different question. The fact is: In many matters, less is more, but in the music industry, this principle doesn’t seem to apply and albums are becoming longer again.

Album consumption is declining

It goes without saying that this is paying off for artists like Kanye or Drake, whose last four albums contained 22 songs on average. But for artists without superstar status, it remains questionable if listeners really are willing to work through that many songs. One statistic says that 54% of music consumers are listening to fewer albums than they did five years ago. Young listeners, in particular, very rarely consume albums, and it is more than doubtful whether overly long albums heighten the enthusiasm for the format.

Constant output is key

So, if you’ve had a productive time in the studio and are sitting on 24 songs, for instance, you should first ask yourself whether all of them meet the standards of quality. Here, it is helpful to not only have yes-men around you but also people who can tell you honestly when it is best to just leave a song on the hard drive. However, even if you come to the conclusion that the world has just been waiting for each and every one of those 24 gems, it is debatable whether you should really put them out there all at once.

Instead of cramming 24 songs into one album, it is better to pick only the 10-14 best tracks that also have a common thread running through them. The rest can be released before or after the album either as singles or EPs. Thus, the public focus isn’t just on a single release, you will have more of a regular output, you can pitch and promote more songs, and you’ve got a coherent album out first. The age of streaming demands constant output and only few artists can afford to release a one-and-a-half-hour album without a preliminary single like Drake.

Another option is to release the album with a manageable number of tracks first and then to put out a deluxe version with additional songs a few weeks or months later. That way, your fans have the time to process the first portion of the songs and will be ready for a second helping of music later. In most cases, you’ll be better off regularly feeding your fans bitesize chunks instead of serving up an oversized platter.

Streaming rules the music industry. This has its pros and cons. Of course, it’s awesome that Spotify, Apple Music, etc. provide a music flat rate and you don’t even have to bother with downloads anymore. But what’s on the flipside of this luxury? And, most importantly, what are the unwanted side effects? Today, we are shedding light on the invisible influence the mechanisms of the streaming services have on the actual sound and production of music.

Streaming heaven?

Streaming technology has massively changed the music scene. Services like Spotify and Apple Music have now become the backbone of the global music industry. The limitless accessibility of music is without question a blessing for consumers – but streaming also exerts an invisible influence on the way that music is made. Industry giants like Spotify, with more than 40% of market shares, are changing quite a few things when it comes to the sound and production of many songs.

One size fits all

“Nowadays, everything sounds the same” is a criticism that the modern music scene certainly has to live with. But that isn’t necessarily down to a lack of creativity on the part of the artists; they obviously want to get into the big playlists. The playlists, however, subscribe to a specific type of sound. A famous example would be Rap Caviar on Spotify – if artists want to be included in it, their songs must correspond with what is already working there. Thus, the playlists develop their own dynamic whereby a specific type of sound is presumed to promise the highest chances of success.

Sound for phone speakers

More and more people consume music via mobile devices. Since the rise of TikTok at the latest, however, artists seem to feel the need to make adjustments to their sound. While a few years ago, wall-shaking 808 kicks and a heart-rattling bass were the pinnacle of existence, what often prevails today is tame 808s that live off their bounce – and that come across perfectly through phone speakers. After all, how is a song supposed go viral if it only slaps through a HiFi system?

The death of intros

Streaming services pay per stream, not by playtime. The logical consequence is that songs are, therefore, becoming shorter and shorter. Generally, a stream counts after 30 seconds of playtime, so people’s attention needs to be kept for at least this amount of time. For this reason, a lot of current productions do almost entirely without an intro – they get right to the point. Shorter songs have one more advantage: Listeners can generate more streams and thus more profit in a shorter amount of time.

Algorithm pleasing

In the streaming era, it is crucial to have regular releases. That is not only due to the audience’s short attention span. Just like YouTube and other popular social media sites, streaming services are driven by algorithms that decide who gets what music in their release radar and other generated playlists. For the criteria of relevance of this artificial intelligence, it’s extremely important to have regular new releases and thus always stay on the radar.

The flood of singles

In order to have regular releases, you obviously can’t just whip out an album every few weeks. Through streaming, singles have gained more relevance than ever. While they used to be hardly more than a promo tool to advertise an upcoming album, it is now almost the other way around. That’s not just linked to algorithm pleasing but also to consumer behavior: For many, listening to an album from start to finish is unfortunately an outdated way of consuming music. No matter if they’re curated, algorithmic, or personal – playlists always want to be fed with new singles.

Friendship and features abound

Collaborations between artists have always been an important tool for cross promotion. In the streaming era, however, the effectiveness of this tool is exponentiated – because even without extensive plugging, the song will appear in the profiles of both artists. The profile of the other artist is only a click away. Rivalries, on the other hand, only result in the feuding fanbases skipping the respective rival in their playlists. This, by the way, sends a very bad signal to the algorithm.

TikTok’s scope is constantly being expanded. Currently, the platform is rolling out two new features: Stories that disappear after 24 hours like on Instagram, their pioneer, and the so-called Spark Ads. These are a way to sponsor original TikToks to boost their reach. Both features can especially help music creators successfully use TikTok as a promo tool.

Stories finally available on TikTok

Stories are a well-known feature by now. From Snapchat to Insta and even Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter – they all offer Stories. It will work just the same on TikTok: Creators have the option to share daily highlights that are available for exactly 24 hours and will then be automatically deleted. In contrast to their competition, TikTok additionally provides a comment section under their Stories. However, how long this new feature will be in testing and when it will ultimately be made available everywhere has not yet been revealed.

Why Stories?

For TikTok, this step definitely makes sense. This way, the platform inches closer to the level of interactivity of a classic social media site, thus expanding on the rather passive, algorithm driven consumer behavior by adding an actively usable function that specifically brings creators and closer together with their audience. When it comes to sharing up-to-date information on the day, Stories are practically indispensable for artists.

What are Spark Ads?

“Make TikToks not ads” has been the platform’s advice to advertisers from the start. To support this principle, TikTok is now launching their so-called Spark Ads. These represent a way to sponsor organic TikToks instead of just showing traditional commercials as ad clips, which was the practice in the past. This new feature allow content that is already performing well to be given helpful boost.

Spark Ads – a dream come true for musicians

For brands seeking to advertise, Spark Ads offer many exciting opportunities, but for musicians, too, this new feature can prove particularly profitable. Filtering out your most effective TikToks and giving them another push can get you strong results – especially since Sparks, just like other ads, can also be targeted for conversions, for instance. Developing the optimal strategy will take a few tries, but TikTok readily offers tips and support.

Don’t foget external content

Sparks can not only be used to promote your own TikToks. You can also sponsor other people’s content. If a creator used your song in a successful TikTok, you can invest ad funds in that, as well. All you need is the ad ID of the TikTok in question, which in most cases won’t be a problem after getting in contact with the creator. This feature is incredibly practical – after all, you are not the only person on Tiktok who is potentially promoting your song.

How does it work exactly?

In order to use Sparks, you will need a TikTok Business account. In the Ad Center, you will then have the option to access posts by creators who have allowed this. For that, they need to activate the ad authorization toggle under their privacy settings. Then, using the ad ID, your Tiktoks can be played as in-feed ads or top-view ads from the TikTok Business Center. Right now, the feature is still in beta, but don’t let that hold you back! The ad rates are still extremely cheap at the moment with CPMs of well below $2.

For most artists, Spotify is the streaming service that generates the most revenue for them. Accordingly, you should present yourself as well as possible on the leading music streaming service and show all information at a glance to the potential fans who come to your profile. We have the checklist how to make your profile the perfect business card for your music.

Checklist

Verification: Make sure your profile is verified, i.e. the blue check is displayed next to the artist name. This gives you access to Spotify for Artists and therefore all important data as well as the possibility to edit your profile. With iGroove you get the blue check without going through the verification process.

Spotify ID: With some distributors, including iGroove, you can store the ID of your profile so that all releases appear in the correct profile.

On-time delivery: Deliver your release to Spotify as early as possible, we recommend at least two weeks before release. This way you can meet the deadline for pitching and your release will appear in the release radar of your fans.

Biography: The bio should always be up to date and refer to the current release. If the text refers to the EP released three years ago, it doesn’t look very professional.

Social Media Links: Add all your social media links to your profile so that visitors can find you immediately and you can gain new followers.

Header & Profile Picture: Regularly update the header and profile picture to match the current release.

Image Gallery: Add several high-quality images and change them occasionally.

Canvas: Enhance the user experience with moving images.

Pre-Save: Increase your saves by pushing your release with pre-save.

Pitching: Pitch each of your releases to Spotify’s curators or use iGroove’s pitching service and present your release to four additional stores.

Waterfall Singles: If you release several singles before an album, it is recommended to add the previous singles to the next one. The 2nd single includes 2 songs, the 3rd single 3 songs and so on. This way you increase the streams on your previous releases.

Artist Pick: Change the “Artist Recommendation” regularly and point directly to your new release, a playlist or the release of an associated artist.

Artist Playlist: Create one or more playlists with all your songs so that your catalog gets the attention it deserves.

Tour Dates: Add your concert dates to your profile (including virtual concerts). This is possible via Songkick.

With pre-saves you give your fans the possibility to save your release on Spotify before the release. If this is done diligently, this will of course be noticed by the algorithms. In addition, thanks to the pre-save link, you can promote the release more targeted with a clear call-to-action. However, for the pre-save campaign to be crowned with success, you have to set it up correctly.

Two options for pre-saves

Users have two ways to save something on Spotify:

• If they click the heart at the top of the release, they save the entire release to their library.
• If they click the heart next to the song, they save only that specific track to their favourite songs playlist.

With Spotify for Artists (S4A), only the number of saves of the specific songs are visible (but with some delay), but not the saves in the library.

Depending on which tool you use to set up the pre-save campaign, you will need to enter either the UPC or EAN, the ISRC, or the Spotify URI. Since the music is not yet released at this point, you will only get these links through your distributor. The UPC/EAN identifies the entire release, while the ISRC belongs to the song. So if you release an album with 10 songs, you will get one EAN and 10 ISRCs. These codes also determine how your pre-save campaign will work.

Not all saves are visible in Spotify for Artists

If you use the UPC/EAN for your campaign, the fan saves your entire release in his library. These saves are therefore not visible in your S4A.

If you use the ISRC, only the specific song will be saved in your fan’s favourite songs. These saves are therefore listed in the S4A.

If you release a single, the case is clear: then it is recommended to use the ISRC, because you promote only the one song. For EPs or albums, you are faced with the decision if you want to push a specific song or the whole project. In this case we recommend the EAN.

How does it work with iGroove?

If you choose the free pre-save service at iGroove, we’ll find the Spotify URI for you and set up the campaign. Now it comes down to the format of the release:

Single (1-3 songs): the first song of the single will be added to your fan’s favourite songs plus the whole single to the library.

EP or Album: The whole release will be added to your fan’s library.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our support.

Livestreaming has become more and more important on TikTok and an increasing number of musicians have been using the feature with quite success, as The Weeknd has proven. Within the span of one year, the consumption of livestreams has doubled. To provide creators with even more options to interact with their fans, TikTok has launched various new livestream features. Here’s the overview.

LIVE Events

With this tool, creators can let their audience know in advance when they will be going live. This also allows them to promote the event. Fans can sign up and receive a notification and then another reminder shortly before the livestream begins.

Go LIVE Together

It is now possible for two creators to, you’ve guessed it, go live together. This feature is especially useful for musicians, as it gives them lots of new options from jam sessions to Q&As to interviews, etc.

LIVE Q&A

This feature allows you to answer fan questions in real time.

Help for Hosts

With livestreams, you naturally want to connect directly with your fans. But performing and keeping an eye on the reactions of your audience at the same is tricky. Using this feature, you can ask someone to manage the conversations for you.

TikTok’s success continues

TikTok’s growth seems unstoppable. The newest data shows that the app has now been downloaded more than 3 billion times. They have thus become the first app not associated with Facebook to hit this milestone. This is good news for musicians, as well, since a recent survey has shown that after discovering a song on TikTok, 67% of users then proceed to listen to it on their preferred streaming platform.

TikTok teams up with Spotify

The relationship with Spotify seems to be a particularly close one. In Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Turkey, and the UK, TikTok users receive three months of Spotify Premium for free. It will be interesting to see whether this will just be a one-time marketing campaign or whether the two big players will pursue their collaboration further.

YouTube has recently launched a fourth monetization opportunity for creators: Super Thanks. This feature was added on top of Super Chat and Super Stickers, both used in livestreams, and channel subscriptions. Using Super Thanks, users can thank creators for their uploaded videos by sending them a certain amount money.

Revenue not only for livestreams

Super Thanks is available both on desktop and mobile devices (Android and iOS). Users have the option to transfer a fixed amount (2, 5, 10 or 50) in their preferred currency. When they do so, their comment will be highlighted and the transferred amount will be shown, as well. 30% of that will go to YouTube and the rest to the creator.

For musicians, this is certainly a welcome addition, since they are less focused on livestreaming compared to other creators. Now, their subscribers can reward them for music videos and behind-the-scenes content, as well. It is therefore wise to set up a strategy for encouraging fans to use the Super Thanks feature frequently.

Super Thanks not yet available for everyone

Super Thanks is still in beta at the moment and only available to select creators in 68 countries. To check whether you have access to it, log in to YouTube and then click on “Monetization” in the menu. Under the tab “Supers” you should then be able to see the option “Super Thanks” along with an on/off button. If that is not the case, you don’t have the option to use it at the moment. By the end of the year, Super Thanks should be available to everyone in the YouTube Partner Program.

Last year, we already gave you an update on social media trends and the worldwide use of different platforms. Hootsuite and We Are Social have now published their newest findings, and we have worked our way through the hundreds of pages of reports (Digital 2021 July Global Statshot Report and regional reports from Jan. 21) to put together for you the most important and relevant facts for musicians. Let’s jump right in

5.27 billion people own a cellphone, which represents 67% of the global population (2.3% more than the year before). Of these, 4.8 billion use social media, which is 57% of the global population. That is 520 million more than there were last year, signifying a strong growth of 13.1%. The six English-speaking countries we analyzed are some of the most frequent social media users, which also explains the relatively low growth rate there.

Worldwide	US	UK	Canada	Australia	New Zealand	Ireland
57% (Growth: 13.1%)	72,3% (Growth: 4.3%)	77,9% (Growth: 4.4%)	84,9% (Growth: 8%)	79,9% (Growth: 0%)	82% (Growth: 2.8%)	76,4% (Growth: 3.1%)

On average, users spend almost 7h per day on the internet. Of these, 2.24 minutes are spent on social media (+1.2%), 1h 33 min. by streaming music (+/-0%), and one hour with internet radio (+3.4%). With the exception of the US, the English-speaking countries spend slightly less time on the web than the world average. They also use social media less and have shorter streaming times (although here, too, the US is the exception).

	Worldwide	US	UK	Canada	Australia	New Zealand	Ireland
Internet	6h 55 min.	7h 11 min.	6h 26 min.	6h 26 min.	6h 13 min.	6h 39 min.	6h 30 min.
Social Media	2h 24 min.	2h 07 min.	1h 49 min.	1h 46 min.	1h 46 min.	1h 55 min.	1h 55 min.
Streaming	1h 33 min.	1h 35 min.	1h 15 min.	1h 11 min.	1h 22 min.	1h 20 min.	1h 23 min.
Radio	1h 00 min.	1h 09 min.	1h 12 min.	1h 07 min.	1h 05 min.	1h 10 min.	1h 11 min.

A fan-favorite pastime of internet users is videos. A whopping 93.4% watch videos online. A decent 38.6% stream music (23% pay for it, too), 22.8% listen to internet radio, and 18.7% consume podcasts. The English-speaking countries are among the pioneers of streaming and in all of them, more than 59% of internet users stream music. There is also a significantly higher percentage of internet radio and podcast listeners. The Irish, here, have revealed themselves to be absolutely massive audio users.

	Worldwide	US	UK	Canada	Australia	New Zealand	Ireland
Videos	93.4%	92.3%	89.4%	91.6%	88.1%	94.3%	93.8%
Streaming	38.6%	69.6%	61.8%	59.6%	64%	65.7%	70.3%
Online Radio	22.8%	39.9%	37.3%	36%	34%	34.4%	42.4%
Podcasts	18.7%	39.3%	33.2%	31.4%	35%	34.8%	41.2%

On average, people worldwide use 6.6 social media platforms. But these don’t seem to suffice for the users in the six countries we’ve examined. They have between 6.8 (Canada) and 8 profiles (Ireland) per person.

Worldwide	US	UK	Canada	Australia	New Zealand	Ireland
6.6	7.1	6.9	6.8	7.2	7.6	8

Now, let’s take a look at which social media platforms are used the most.

Worldwide	US	UK	Canada	Australia	New Zealand	Ireland
Facebook	YouTube	YouTube	YouTube	YouTube	YouTube	YouTube
YouTube	Facebook	Facebook	Facebook	Facebook	Facebook	WhatsApp
WhatsApp	Instagram	WhatsApp	FB Messenger	FB Messenger	FB Messenger	Facebook
Instagram	FB Messenger	FB Messenger	Instagram	Instagram	Instagram	FB Messenger
FB Messenger	Twitter	Instagram	Twitter	WhatsApp	WhatsApp	Instagram
WeChat	Pinterest	Twitter	WhatsApp	Twitter	Snapchat	Twitter
TikTok	Snapchat	LinkedIn	Pinterest	Snapchat	LinkedIn	LinkedIn
QQ	LinkedIn	Snapchat	LinkedIn	LinkedIn	Pinterest	Snapchat
Douyin	TikTok	Pinterest	Snapchat	Pinterest	Twitter	Pinterest
Telegram	Reddit	TikTok	TikTok	TikTok	TikTok	TikTok
Sina Weibo	WhatsApp	Skype	Reddit	Skype	Skype	Skype
Snapchat	Skype	Reddit	Skype	Reddit	Reddit	Reddit
Kuaishou	Twitch	Twitch	Twitch	Twitch	Neighbourly	Viber
Pinterest	Tumblr	Tumblr	WeChat	WeChat	Twitch	Twitch
Reddit	WeChat	WeChat	Tumblr	Viber	Viber	Tumblr
Twitter	Imgur	Viber	Imgur	Tumblr	WeChat	WeChat

Both worldwide and in the English-speaking countries, specifically, YouTube and the products of Facebook (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger) continue to dominate. The ranks that follow are filled with various platforms in various orders, which for the English-speaking countries include Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Snapchat, although Snapchat is ahead of TikTok across the board.

Comparing Instagram and Facebook, we observe that Instagram is ahead when it comes to female users in the 16-24 and 25-34 age range. Older users prefer Facebook. Looking at male users, Instagram only takes the lead in the 16-24 age range, all others are dominated by Facebook.

Streaming has changed many things, not least the listening pattern of consumers. While in the past most successful songs came from the US or the UK, it is completely normal today for listeners in Germany to listen to K-pop, Nigerian songs to be streamed in the US, or Latin American artists to make it big in Asia. Through streaming, you can theoretically reach listeners all around the globe. But how can you really break into new, foreign markets?

Whereas in Europe, Japan, or Korea the population is ageing, there are countless young people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America who are hungry for new music. They might not have had a record store nearby in the past, but now, the majority of them has cellphones and thus access to all kinds of music. For the longest time, the music industry put their sole focus on a few countries only. This is rather understandable, because only 36 countries used to make up 98% of the profit. However, the knowledge of the remaining markets was lacking. Today, thanks to the artist tools provided by Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, or other platforms such as Chartmetric, you have all the relevant data at your fingertips.

Recognize the signs

It’s important to regularly check the analytics of the streaming services and social media platforms, so you can spot it straight away whenever you attract attention in an unexpected market. When that happens, you have to respond immediately: In this fast-moving age, a hype can be over in the blink of an eye and you might have passed up a great opportunity. But not every quick rise automatically means a chance to expand into a new market. Similarly, not every market is suitable for your music, no matter how lucrative it might seem. China, for instance, is always interesting due to its size alone, but it’s also very hard to crack, because the market is extremely closed off.

Domestic market first?

Experts are split on whether it is better to first gain a foothold in your domestic market or whether you should just invest into whichever market shows the biggest demand. What’s clear is that it’s always easier to build something up in a market that you are familiar with. You have fewer challenges going on tour and you know the media landscape already. Breaking into a new market, on the other hand, takes more time and a bigger budget – and those are still by no means a guarantee for success.

Others, however, find that you should seize your chance wherever it’s presented – be it at your own front door or at the other end of the world. Because once you’ve established yourself in one market, the algorithms often also ensure success in other countries, including, at some point, the domestic market. But whatever you decide to do, you need a good team as a foundation that will support you through these steps.

Marketing

If you are aiming for a new market or perhaps already experienced first signs of success there, you will need to market yourself in that location. For starters, you can use targeted ads on social media, but you absolutely need to check first which social media platforms and streaming services are most popular in the corresponding market. For your long-terms plans, however, you should work with a local promoter to really be able to break into the market.

You will need people who are familiar with the local scene. Hiring these experts will be often significantly less expensive than in Europe or the US. You should also keep in mind that the streaming services might not pay as much in the up-and-coming markets. For one million streams from the US, you will receive significantly more than you would for one million streams from the Philippines, for example.

Additionally, it is always wise to observe what the competition is doing. Where are similar artists being streamed and what markets do they fail to win over?

When you want to open your own website, chances are fairly high that the preferred domain with the artist or band name is already taken. You’re then forced to choose a different name or a different ending, which often doesn’t look pretty and also doesn’t really help people find your website easily. For musicians, there will soon be a solution to the problem, and that is .music domains.

Pre-register the domain now

Originally, the .music domains were supposed to be launched last year, but like many other things, the plan was delayed because of the pandemic. However,  it seems like it will become reality soon enough, and people are now able to pre-register the domain of their choosing under music.us. If you don’t want to be disappointed again, you should make sure to do it in time. To receive a domain, you have to get verified, which also shows the users that the website is an official one. Additionally, .music domains are supposed to rank better in search engine results.

A domain for the music industry only

According to the information we currently have, the domains will only be given to people who are actually active in the music industry. This is to avoid cybersquatting, people buying domains to sell them for a lot of money later. Those who can get a .music domain include:

• Artists/bands
• Labels
• Publishers
• Songwriters
• Copyright collectives
• Music unions
• Music managers and agencies
• Music promoters
• Music associations
• Music radio stations
• Etc.

Do you need your own website as a musician?

In the era of social media, some people might wonder whether artists even need their own website still. Well, there are at least a few reasons that speak for maintaining a website in addition to your presence on your preferred social media platforms:

• Clear organization: Everything is in one place and fans as well as media outlets or bookers immediately have all the necessary information and links at hand.
• Professionalism: Everyone has social media accounts, but on a website, you can present yourself as a professional with clear information and quality press photos.
• Individuality: Even more so than your social media profiles, you can customize your website according to your style and image.
• Sales channel: Be it with links or your own online shop, you can use your website to point potential listeners directly to your music or merch.
• SEO: Having your own website optimizes your visibility on search engines.
• Fan data: Through your website, you can receive more fan information and e-mail addresses and build up a mailing list.