The state of music livestreaming discovery
|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|
View this email in your browser (|ARCHIVE|) http://hotpodnews.com/presents.... The fine print of innovation in the music business. This is issue #85, published on May 4, 2020. Happy Monday!
I’m really excited for this week’s issue, which is jam-packed with a combination of blue-sky and on-the-ground analysis on the current state of music. There’s a lot of previously unreported data on the state of music livestreaming discovery and engagement. And there’s also some more conceptual thinking about digital scarcity, and about Spotify as a wellness app, not a streaming app.
Before moving on, I wanted to share the super exciting news that the Water & Music Patreon page (http://patreon.com/cheriehu) now has over 400 paying members!! The community has been especially active in recent weeks as everyone tries to grapple with the role technology and digital media will play in the music business, both now and in the long term.
Self-promotion feels kind of weird in this moment, but I just wanted to give a heartfelt thank-you to everyone who’s supported my work in any way so far. If you have any feedback or ideas on how my writing or Water & Music in general could be more helpful to you, please let me know by replying directly to this email.
I also wanted to share some media, podcast and interview appearances I’ve had the pleasure of making since the last issue: * SoundCloud’s interview series Expert Advice (https://blog.soundcloud.com/2020/04/24/expert-advice-music-tech-journalist-cherie-hu-shares-her-livestreaming-best-practices/) — I shared my thoughts on music livestreaming and what I’d like to see more of in the ecosystem. * WGBH’s Keep It Social (https://www.wgbh.org/foundation/press/wgbh-launches-keep-it-social) — This is an awesome new show about social and digital media, produced by and for millennials and Gen-Zs. I was a guest on their second episode, where we talked about TikTok and how music always molds itself to the technological formats of the moment. You can watch the full show on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIBenzSXLsI) . * Think Like a Rapper (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-like-a-rapper/id1450210761) — I chatted with host Michael “Double 0” Aguilar about all things music and COVID-19. You can also watch a video version of the episode on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ_x05uSxlQ&list=PLrdYH3lIbEmtah8UL76Ue0OQzMJwVVTGR&index=1) .
Last but not least, I’m on Clubhouse (https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/18/clubhouse-app-chat-rooms/) . Sorry. If you are too, let’s chat! The state of music livestreaming discovery Livestreaming has a discovery problem. There’s so much noise and activity, and little infrastructure to help audiences sift through it.
As a result, ticketing and event-discovery apps including Bandsintown, Dice, Songkick and Eventbrite have all pivoted to livestreaming in a matter of weeks. Each is scrambling to solve the long-neglected issue of how to surface the right livestreams to the right fans at the right time — and to make sure those fans actually remember to tune in.
I talked with execs at Bandsintown and Dice about how their value add in the concert industry has shifted amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they’re approaching their curation logic for livestreaming, which operates much differently from that for in-person shows. The biggest difference: Geographic barriers no longer matter (but time zones do).
Fans are also engaging with these apps more, not less, amidst the livestreaming boom. For instance, Bandsintown’s normal click-through rates on event-reminder notifications for in-person shows are 10% to 20%. For livestreams, they’ve been closer to 80%. Click here to continue reading. (https://www.patreon.com/posts/36711310) The data behind music’s rapid growth on Twitch I did some digging around on the third-party analytics platform Twitchmetrics (twitchmetrics.net/) to get more concrete data on just how much music as a category has been growing on Twitch, and whether there are any significant patterns in the top-charting music channels on Twitch today.
The aggregate numbers are staggering: average concurrent viewership on Twitch music streams more than quadrupled in just six weeks (March 12–April 23).
Before mid-March 2020, average concurrent viewers for music hovered at around 6,000 a day. Nowadays, that number is closer to 27,000.
That said, music still pales in comparison to many individual games on Twitch. For example, Animal Crossing alone attracts nearly double the number of views and broadcasters as the entire Music & Performing Arts category combined. Click here to continue reading. (https://www.patreon.com/posts/data-behind-on-36314041) Spotify’s underrated competition: Meditation apps
One week ago, Spotify launched the hybrid music/podcast playlist Daily Wellness (https://newsroom.spotify.com/2020-04-27/daily-wellness-a-new-mix-of-motivational-podcasts-and-personalized-music/) , which alternates between 15–20 minutes of personalized music and brief episodes of meditation and mindfulness podcasts.
The launch is part of Spotify’s push to rebrand itself for an at-home rather than on-the-go lifestyle. The service now has a dedicated At Home (https://www.spotify.com/ie/at-home/) playlist hub, as well as a Listening Together series of artist-branded playlists for meditating (with Grimes (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX1MpjzCcaFxp?si=PWmVVTpZQWGAb-tfOO38Rw) and Kiana Ledé (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX9sCXuuvIBtL?si=CrFJTDnvRT2HMlyQsqLlcw) ), working out (with Anitta (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWUnlKkCoMzGA?si=96jFwB-fSouKAo85JLAE3Q) and Normani (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX1PqXBc4aJ0W?si=69ksgyBtRpOFE_i7EXyUoA) ), cooking (with Troye Sivan (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXdLjs64Jq34Z?si=VwlZ_h-HSwGAMCDif8AI5w) and Selena Gomez (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXbsBJjB1rYeM?si=YRr9IzpMRA-QxZ_YY_4IBA) ) and gaming (with NAV (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXdRS0EclwBOH?si=fTjSGbN0RAq0CaJ5WoEb2A) and Lil Yachty (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX5DmzojBeUi8?si=oUkiFxhjTqOjiLbqYWukwA) ).
In case it wasn’t already obvious, Spotify is no longer just a music platform (https://medium.com/@cheriehu42/why-spotify-is-not-a-music-company-5254ddbdda83) . But even with podcasts added, it’s insufficient to call Spotify a more general audio platform. Instead, Spotify has revealed itself in this pandemic as a platform focused on functional audio.
Once we frame Spotify’s core offering as functional audio, rather than audio writ large, the company’s competitive landscape widens dramatically. The media tends to see Spotify as a competitor (https://www.getrevue.co/profile/pennyfractions/issues/penny-fractions-the-myth-of-music-streaming-competition-215522) to music subsidiaries of billion-dollar tech corporations, such as Apple Music. But the playing field of functional audio is actually much larger than that. It encompasses not only music, but also audio workouts (Aaptiv (https://aaptiv.com/) ), audiobooks (Audible (https://www.audible.com/) ) and meditation (Calm (https://www.audible.com/) ). Click here to continue reading (members only). (https://www.patreon.com/posts/36471606) Digital scarcity in music: A practical introduction In the last newsletter issue, I highlighted digital scarcity as one of the five major music-tech pivots happening right now (https://www.patreon.com/posts/36247421) . I decided to write a deep-dive into this specific concept, given that it’s relatively new in music but could have significant implications for the industry’s long-term sustainability after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why talk about digital scarcity now? As I wrote previously, touring is such an effective moneymaker for music because it combines many forms of scarcity. An artist might appear in a given city only once a year, to play a show that will never happen again. They might sell tour-exclusive merch on-site, or offer a select number of fans the often-expensive (https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47747495) opportunity to chat during meet-and-greet sessions. The geographic and temporal windows within which a fan can see an artist’s tour, let alone meet them directly, are inherently limited.
In contrast, thanks to both piracy and streaming, many fans think digital music should be free and ubiquitous — i.e. the opposite of scarce. The gravity of the current situation for artists is that in real time, they’re forced to shift from a low-volume, high-margin model of physical scarcity to a high-volume, low-margin model of digital ubiquity. In exchange for losing their touring revenue, artists are making more content for less money.
How can we narrow this value gap and build a more sustainable, standalone digital economy around music? We may have to stop taking music’s ubiquity as given, and experiment more with forms of digital-only scarcity. This applies not only to recordings, but also to the surge in livestreaming and community-building happening across the industry. Click here to continue reading (members only). (https://www.patreon.com/posts/36498847) Good reads
On how musicians and music-industry workers are faring right now: * 84% of Music Freelancers Still Waiting on Coronavirus Relief Funds (Billboard) (https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9369404/music-freelancers-waiting-government-relief-funds-coronavirus-survey) * Can Met Musicians Survive the Furlough? (VAN) (https://van-us.atavist.com/survive-the-furlough)
On games as music venues and social platforms: * How the Hell Do You Throw a Music Festival in Minecraft? (Pitchfork) (https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-the-hell-do-you-throw-a-music-festival-in-minecraft/) * Iconic Video Games Are Being Turned Into Virtual Stages (Paper) (https://www.papermag.com/comrade-massie-goldeneye64-dj-set-2645806062.html) * We need more video games that are social platforms first, games second (TechCrunch) (https://app.getpocket.com/read/2970256715)
On esports and the problems with relying too much on competitions and talent for growth: * Esports and the Dangers of Serving at the Pleasure of a King (Matthew Ball) (https://www.matthewball.vc/all/esportsrisks) * An open letter to Cedric Phillips, Gerry Thompson, and the Pro Magic community at large (A.D. Jameson) (https://adjameson.wordpress.com/2018/12/04/an-open-letter-to-cedric-phillips-gerry-thompson-and-the-pro-magic-community-at-large/)
On the devastating uncertainty small businesses face: * My Restaurant Was My Life for 20 Years. Does the World Need It Anymore? (The New York Times) (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/magazine/closing-prune-restaurant-covid.html)
What I’m listening to * Chicano Batman — Invisible People (https://open.spotify.com/album/2sS14o33EFyvcUPu2dfPOT?si=1sTCU6GBR2S4gRi8n73TDw) * Khruangbin — “Time (You and I)” (https://open.spotify.com/track/2QoiyjegLQ3DWKBfFX9ihX?si=afRNoyIaQt6yJuk3Ml-iEw) * Julia Wu — 5 am (https://open.spotify.com/album/6Lgo02nN7pr6eUxE6KTJbX?si=hHe4qO1aTX2VFr__qx9Pdw) * STRFKR — Future Past Life (https://open.spotify.com/album/72tIS6tPTKymncSkk2ezBJ?si=Nz-r6cXJRw6Nfz5tCZbmNg)
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! ❤️
============================================================ Twitter (https://twitter.com/cheriehu42) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cheriehu42) Website (https://cheriehu.com) Email (mailto:cherie@cheriehu.com) Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/user/121407986?si=0BQCICqdRF-LPwZ1grf6jA) Medium (https://medium.com/@cheriehu42) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheriehu/) Instagram (https://instagram.com/cheriehu42) Copyright © |CURRENT_YEAR| |LIST:COMPANY|, All rights reserved. |IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE| |LIST:DESCRIPTION|
Our mailing address is: |LIST_ADDRESS| |END:IF|
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences (|UPDATE_PROFILE|) or unsubscribe from this list (|UNSUB|) .
|IF:REWARDS| |REWARDS_TEXT| |END:IF|