Five major music-tech pivots happening right now
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View this email in your browser (|ARCHIVE|) http://hotpodnews.com/presents.... The fine print of innovation in the music business. This is issue #84, published on April 21, 2020. Happy Tuesday!
If you’re like me, you’ve officially been on lockdown for over one month now, which is bonkers. To mark the time passing so quickly, I dedicated today’s headline essay to analyzing the major, higher-level changes I’ve noticed in music and tech since early March, and how I think these changes will shift the music industry’s way of operating in the long term.
Before moving on, I wanted to share a handful of articles, podcasts and shows I’ve had the pleasure of appearing in recently — * Zel McCarthy interviewed me for his Billboard article (https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/9354526/coronavirus-dj-live-streams-business-money) about the business of DJ livestreams. * Alice Amel interviewed me for her recent show on Riverside Radio (https://www.mixcloud.com/riversideradio/alice-amel-show-22-cherie-hu-danielle-davis-interviews-24320/) about the current music livestreaming landscape. * I was the first repeat guest (!) on the Music Business Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/navigating-music-business-during-quarantine-cherie/id1451558910?i=1000470974300) , chatting with Sam Hysell and Jordan Williams about the COVID-19 pandemic’s myriad impacts on the music industry.
As well as a few appearances at upcoming virtual events — * This Friday, April 24 is the deadline to apply for the Next Stage Challenge (https://nextstagechallenge.org/) , a new online hackathon dedicated to building new tools, business models and experiences to help artists, promoters and the music industry at large. I’ve signed on as a mentor for the Fan Engagement track. * This Friday, April 24 at 12:45PM ET, I will also be giving a lightning talk for the virtual conference Amplify Music (https://amplifymusic.org/) about the possibility of normalizing digitally scarce musical goods and experiences in a world without touring. Those interested in attending can RSVP on Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amplify-music-resilience-and-community-ecosystems-in-local-music-tickets-100165581952) . * This Sunday, April 26 at 5:00PM ET, I will be doing a brief interview as part of the CreatorsRise COVID-19 Digital Telethon (https://www.facebook.com/events/219541415976409) to raise money for Sweet Relief.
Five major music-tech pivots happening right now This article offers a 30,000-foot view on major changes sweeping through the music business today, drawing inspiration from my ongoing book research on music and tech entrepreneurship.
One overarching methodology in my book involves taking popular concepts from the tech world and testing their viability in the context of music, and vice versa. For instance, I’ve written in the past about the messiness of trying to build a “tech adoption lifecycle” for artists (https://medium.com/@cheriehu42/the-artist-as-technology-part-1-breaking-the-adoption-cycle-7e77aa8398af) , and about whether jazz improvisation is really a helpful blueprint for business strategy (https://www.patreon.com/posts/31689079) .
Today, I want to use this method to address something almost everyone in the music industry is going through right now: Pivoting.
In general, pivoting is the act of changing your strategy or business model from your initial plans, often in response to shifting customer needs or market trends. The phenomenon is commonplace in the tech world, and is how companies like Twitter (which began as a podcast startup (https://www.fastcompany.com/1837848/insiders-history-how-podcasting-startup-pivoted-become-twitter) ) and Slack (which started as a video game (https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/30/the-slack-origin-story/) ) came to be.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a vastly different kind of pivot onto the business world — one triggered not so much by internal, regimented market research, but by a more external and much more sudden upheaval.
No one could have anticipated entire industries across hospitality, travel, real estate, manufacturing and events slowing to a standstill, causing more than 20 million Americans to file for unemployment benefits (https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/16/economy/unemployment-benefits-coronavirus/index.html) within one month. In response, several companies have switched (https://www.npr.org/2020/04/02/826358111/the-coronavirus-pivot) gears (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/coronavirus-how-small-businesses-are-pivoting-due-to-the-virus.html) in record time to meet everyday people’s needs at home — from food wholesalers embracing direct-to-consumer models, to automobile and alcohol companies manufacturing ventilators and hand sanitizer from scratch. If you’re reading this, you’re likely also in the middle of pivoting your own business model or career for 2020 and beyond.
What do these changes look like in music? After monitoring the situation over the past several weeks, I’ve identified five major music-tech pivots happening right now that are impacting all corners of the industry — record labels, publishers, event organizers, merch manufacturers and, of course, artists and fans — and could have far-reaching systemic consequences after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
Tl;dr— * Digital media is becoming a core part of the fan experience, not a means to an end. * Immersive, at-home video, not lean-back audio, is now the highest source of music consumption growth. * Artists and fans are turning to direct-to-consumer revenue models over third-party aggregation models. * Social isolation has led to a surge in demand for social music tech. * Without touring, digital scarcity could become a financial necessity for music.
Click here to continue reading. (https://www.patreon.com/posts/36247421) What I learned as a panelist on Charli XCX’s Zoom call
Two weeks ago, I got to ask Charli XCX a question as a “panelist” during a Zoom call about her upcoming quarantine album.
On April 6, Charli announced that she will be making a new album entirely from home, titled how i’m feeling now, to be released on May 15 through her label Asylum Records (an imprint of Atlantic Records). Unlike her previous albums, she has decided to make her creative process more transparent to the wider public, hosting regular Zoom calls for up to 1,000 fans each time to issue updates on her album’s progress.
I joined the second Zoom call in this series, which took place last Thursday, April 8. (The call was also livestreamed on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RdvFymum64) , where the full video is also available on demand.)
Charli’s team pitched this opportunity to me as a virtual spin on a “press conference” — whereby I and other music journalists would get to ask Charli a question about her upcoming album, after an intro section in which she walked fans through her plans with album artwork.
Part of it did end up having a press-conference vibe, but it ended up being so much more than that: it was more like a a mix of press conference, VIP fan meet-and-greet and celebrity hangout that I had never experienced before, and spoke really clearly to the current zeitgeist around music marketing. Click here to continue reading (members only). (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35789471) A database of music’s burgeoning avatar ecosystem This members-only database is a preview of a longform article I’m writing about the growing number of companies building avatars for the music industry.
I loosely define avatars as digital, bodily representations of humans or personalities, real-world or fictional. In the music industry, this comprises a variety of different approaches, including: * Concert “holograms” — or cinematic laser projections that pay homage to either living or deceased musicians, and are intended to be experienced in a standard, in-person show setting (e.g. those from BASE Hologram (https://basehologram.com/) , Eyellusion (http://eyellusionlive.com/) and Facebank (https://www.facebankgroup.com/) ). * “Virtual beings” — or digitally-rendered musicians and idols that have no ties to an existing human personality, and live primarily online (e.g. Vocaloid (https://www.vocaloid.com/en/) -based idols like Hatsune Miku (https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid/cv01_us) in Japan and Luo Tianyi (https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2188238/chinas-virtual-idols-meet-their-fans-intersection-entertainment-and-technology) in China, or CGI influencers and artists from the likes of Brud (http://www.brud.fyi/) , AWW (http://aww.tokyo/) , Spirit Bomb (http://spiritbomb.ai/) and Auxuman (https://www.auxuman.space/) ). * Dedicated virtual music event designers that create full virtual environments from scratch in which musicians can interact with each other and with their fans, usually with avatars involved (e.g. TheWaveXR (https://wavexr.com/) , Open Pit (https://www.openpit.net/) ). * Social- and reach-driven avatar developers that work directly with musicians to craft digital selves that can be easily shared on social media, often for marketing purposes (e.g. Jadu (https://jaduhologram.com/) , Genies (https://www.genies.com/) ).
I was originally hesitant to write about the avatar ecosystem in this moment, in fear of seeming too futuristic or head-in-the-clouds in a climate where many people are in survival mode and prefer pragmatism over speculation. But after some reflection, I realized that it might actually be more pragmatic than before to talk about avatars. After all, we’re now in an extreme situation characterized by the following elements: * For much of the world, live shows don’t exist. * More than ever, our in-person social interactions are confined by place, bringing the majority of our conversations with others online, both professionally and personally. * As many of us seek more immersive entertainment, our consumption habits are shifting away from lean-back audio media towards lean-forward visual media.
This confluence of factors has proven to be a perfect storm for all forms of virtual entertainment, as well as more fantastical, animated styles of visual art. Click here to access the database (members only). (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35975214) Good reads
On the culture and economics of virtual club nights, DJ sets and concert reruns: * Tuning In to Instagram DJs (The New Yorker) (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/tuning-in-to-instagram-djs) * People Are Paying Real Money to Get Into Virtual Zoom Nightclubs (Bloomberg) (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-14/virtual-nightlife-grows-past-dj-livestreams-to-paid-zoom-clubs) * Sponsorships Are Helping Homebound Artists Replace Lost Revenue, But ‘Their Leverage Has Diminished’ (Billboard) (https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/branding/9359963/artist-brand-deals-livestreams-rates-sponsorships-coronavirus) * Labor Dispute Sinks Broadway Benefit for Pandemic Assistance (The New York Times) (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/theater/broadway-cares-coronavirus.html)
On the few sectors of music that are growing during the pandemic: * Children’s music never broke through in China, but coronavirus may change that (Quartz) (https://qz.com/1828722/coronavirus-could-boost-the-childrens-music-business-in-china/) * Your Favorite Artist’s Next Video Will Be Animated (Rolling Stone) (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/animated-music-videos-covid-19-981278/)
On the importance of including artists’ perspectives in discussions about technology: * Manufacturing Consent in the Digital Music Industries (Flow) (https://www.flowjournal.org/2020/04/manufacturing-consent-digital-music/)
On emerging business models for independent newsletters: * Bundle Magic (Divinations) (https://divinations.substack.com/p/bundle-magic)
What I’m listening to A mix of old and new, bright and gritty. * Chynna — in case i die first (https://open.spotify.com/album/1BT92T8hIw4sbKvqfpacFN?si=h9Hl2AYgQB-gOVzJa06aiw) * DJ Python — Mas Amable (https://open.spotify.com/album/2RLMab2R3icqnFA2dYJKVc?si=Qh0N23X-QsOQvrLPeTIEDA) * Against All Logic (a.k.a. Nicolas Jaar) — 2017 - 2019 (https://open.spotify.com/album/75vFTgDgdfVhbniLoyCNKh?si=erGuvIpHSLGxpHjdMorfVA) * Roy Ayers Ubiquity — Everybody Loves The Sunshine (https://open.spotify.com/album/5JehGpTedBPXzhUcwXoIlf?si=-HohPRY5TpuXtgW0YOzANQ) * Dua Lipa — Future Nostalgia (https://open.spotify.com/album/7fJJK56U9fHixgO0HQkhtI?si=9EoBhGLjTsKnLAVpBCrA0A) * Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes ft. Freddie Gibbs — “Nightrider (https://open.spotify.com/track/0i7jazn1Rtp51KPM4iSs6z?si=bZDiZZaZRXeRE9kqYt_t7w) “
If you’d like to support even more thoughts and conversations on music and tech, I encourage you to become a paying member of the Water & Music ecosystem on Patreon (http://patreon.com/cheriehu?utm_campaign=Water%20%26%20Music&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter) .
For as little as $3/month or as much as $200+/month, you can access a wide range of perks including: * A closed, members-only Discord server, consisting of regular updates and analysis on the most important music and tech news * Exclusive essays and article previews * Updates on my book research * Monthly video hangouts with me
…and much more! Thanks so much for reading! ❤️
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