“We’re on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying.” No, this is not a quote from the reboot of Twin Peaks, it’s actually something pop icon David Bowie declared 15 years ago, while the music industry was still peaceful and seemingly stable.
“The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about music will take place within 10 years, and nothing is going to be able to stop it. I see absolutely no point in pretending that it’s not going to happen. I’m fully confident that copyright, for instance, will no longer exist in 10 years, and authorship and intellectual property is in for such a bashing,” declared Bowie during an interview with New York Times.
David Bowie was mostly famous due to his versatility, his ability to juggle various genres from art rock to electronic music, his strength in facing the “Changes” and keeping up with the requests of the industry. The legendary artist not only influenced a dozen of musicians, but he actually predicted music streaming services like Spotify and Tidal, and basically the future of the music business. Spoiler: It’s not so bright. Let’s break it down a bit.
How do digital music sales and the music streaming industry affect the artist?
Well… let’s just say we went from buying and borrowing actual tapes or CDs to downloading and sending MP3 files to simply listening to music online, on various streaming services. Not even iTunes could truly rise above and, therefore, Apple spawned Apple Music. Moreover, the internet is crawling with such websites and apps. This means we don’t necessarily buy music anymore if there’s no need to actually own it.
It’s much easier for us, as consumers, to pay 10$ per month and enjoy all the music our hearts desire, but this certainly affects the earnings of the artist. Many of them have fought the system, trying to profit from the economic boom of the music streaming industry, but it’s just not very profitable for them. For example, Spotify’s royalty payout is #0.006 – 0.0084 per stream, so what chances do the newbies have? Even the pop-country princess Taylor Swift had trouble with such methods, suing Apple at one point.
How do digital music sales and the music streaming industry affect us?
Photo source: Pixabay
Many artists have found their “comfort zone” in massively touring (“You’d better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that’s really the only unique situation that’s going to be left,” Bowie said), as record sales are free falling. This might just mean more expensive concert or music festival tickets for us.
In 2002, the year Bowie wisely spoke about this matter, the highest selling record was Eminem’s The Eminem Show, earning $13.9M. In 2016, the record which sold best was Beyonce’s Lemonade, with $2.5M, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
This being said, did your mentalities change so drastically that we don’t need to own stuff anymore? Do we ruin music by considering it just another monthly bill? (”Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity.”) Common sense would say that making something so accessible will diminish its value. What do you think?
Is the future of record labels at stake?
David Bowie once mentioned: “I don’t even know why I would want to be on a label in a few years because I don’t think it’s going to work by labels and by distribution systems in the same way.”
Basically, the development in technology has made record labels pretty much irrelevant. Of course, they provide much more than mixing and recording, but artists have learnt to become self-sufficient. They create their music by themselves, or independent labels and then resort to digital music sales since there are so many ways to do so right now.
The majority of the independent labels which are run by artists are much more likely to sign with newly formed bands and are simply more affordable. Moreover, artists can now use social media channels to promote their work, at least to a point, without paying a dime. In these conditions, what are the chances of record labels surviving another 15 years?
Was David Bowie a wizard?
“I don’t think we’ve even seen the tip of the iceberg,” Bowie said. “What the internet is going to do to society, both good and bad, is unimaginable.”
Photo source: Thatericalper
In conclusion, we’re amazed by Bowie’s premonitions. Who knows what else might come true? Maybe Lorde will take over the world. Or maybe a Homo Superior will dethrone the basic homo sapiens like he suggested in “Oh You Pretty Things”.
Another thing we learned is that we are shallow beings who can’t appreciate our favourite albums like the precious artefacts they are. We are lazy and the internet, along with the music streaming industry, is going to swallow us whole.
The sombre future of the music business is made out of pixels, codes and data files. But don’t lose your faith! We heard that music on vinyl has made a huge comeback. Perhaps nostalgia will kick in and we will find a balance between affordable and valuable.
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