🦠 COVID-19's effect on genre popularity; 12.3m fans gather for Travis Scott's first Fortnite concert; "Spotify's 'tip jar' slap in the face for musicians"; Sony / ATV donates $500k to songwriters
Daily update for the music business on the coronavirus (April 24)
COVID-19’s Effect on the Global Music Business, Part 1: Genre (Beats & Bytes)
Spotify listenership appears to be widening for Classical, Ambient, and Children’s due to COVID-19. Listenership is relatively unaffected for Pop, Country and Dance, but Country seems to be demonstrating the greatest resiliency. Listenership appears to be narrowing for Latin, Rap, and Rock, but potentially due to other factors.
There's No Such Thing as Independent Music in the Age of Coronavirus (Vice)
Now, for the first time in our lifetime, and partly because they've been forced to, musicians are collectively voicing the fact that they are not merely exquisite souls, but workers—workers who are now out of a job, and who deserve the same protections that all workers do.
Spotify's 'tip jar' is a slap in the face for musicians. It should pay them better (The Guardian)
Musicians need this money – but can their need be fairly compared with those of healthcare services? Spotify’s courting of charity donations should have been made in a different context from one where they’re trying to raise money for musicians. By combining them, it has undermined both types of giving.
12.3m fans showed up for Travis Scott’s first Fortnite concert (Music Ally)
While collecting societies may be crunching the numbers on potential performance royalties from a multi-song virtual concert with an attendance (for only the first of five showings) of 12.3 million, we’re as interested in the potential revenues being generated by the virtual items associated with the Astronomical event.
Perc On Adapting To The Times As An Artist And Label Owner (Magnetic Mag)
It is worth remembering that a lot of labels are propped up financially by the label owner's gigging income. If a release loses a few hundred pounds then that deficit is made up of money earned on the road. If there is no gigging income then that safety net is gone and some fairly well-established labels could soon grind to a halt or go digital-only.
Spanish body Promusicae breaks down potential Covid-19 impact (Music Ally)
Ad-supported streaming, he added, will suffer from an expected 40% to 80% fall in general advertising revenue, resulting in €26m less income going to the music industry, while an economic recession will mean consumers are less likely to pay for premium subscriptions.
Application Frustration: How US Music Pros Are Navigating Relief Funds and Federal Aid (Billboard)
So far, MusiCares has approved over 9,000 applications in the past three weeks, and is vetting more than 600 a day. “That’s thousands more than we process in an entire year,” says MusiCares VP Health and Human Services Debbie Carroll. “I hope this puts into perspective how dire the situation is and that more donations are crucial.”
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Donates $500,000 to Songwriting Community (Variety)
The Nashville Songwriters Association International and Songwriters of North America will split $500,000 and provide additional support to their constituents struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic and shifting needs in the music marketplace.
Beyoncé's BeyGOOD initiative offers $6 million for coronavirus relief (LA Times)
In partnership with Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall initiative, the money will go to various community-based organizations, UCLA and the National Alliance in Mental Illness to provide on-the-ground essential needs and mental health services in New York, Detroit, New Orleans and Houston, Beyoncé's home city.
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Thoughts
Today, I’m speaking with Endlesss founder and musician Tim Exile about “the new dynamic, tribal, relationship-and-skill-focussed musical normal” at Amplify Music for a talk titled: How the COVID-19 Crisis May Change the Format of Music Itself.
If you’re on GMT, tune in 11:45am. If you’re on CET, it’s 12:45pm. Follow the link to register for Amplify Music.
MUSIC x CORONA goes out every morning (CET) on every weekday and is composed by Bas Grasmayer.
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