How does the recent growth of Spotify and Beatport affect you as an artist?
The International Music Summit (IMS) in Ibiza attracts industry leaders and artists from around the world to enjoy a number of exciting seminars, debates, master classes and interviews. Annually, IMS Ibiza coincides with the release of the IMS Business Report, a study on the electronic music industry including a mass of interesting data. The report contains a number of statistics predicting the future of the music industry, and highlights the rise and fall of leading companies. This year, the business report contained a lot of data around Spotify and Beatport, two contrasting platforms that both attract a huge number of electronic music listeners each year. The predicted future of both platforms is set to have an impact on artists around the globe, so it is important to be aware of the data released. Predicting the future of the industry, including upcoming trends, is a key aspect of becoming even more successful as an artist. But what were the trends that the IMS Business Report picked up this year?
Spotify
Currently valued at $28 billion, Spotify has experienced exponential growth over the last few years. Paying subscribers are expected to double by 2020, predicted to reach a staggering 142 million, as the platform increases its dominance in the sector. Electronic music forms a major portion of the platform, accounting for a high proportion of its listeners. The ‘Mint’ playlist showcases some of the finest talents in the electronic music scene, and has been named as the sixth most popular playlist on Spotify, with 5 million followers, a huge number of followers for a playlist alone. The influence of electronic music on the platform is undeniable, with the 3rd and 4th most streamed tracks falling into the genre, not to mention the fact that 27% of the 100 all time most streamed tracks are EDM, electronic or house. The Chainsmokers are the third act in the world to have reached over 1 billion streams for multiple singles, with both ‘Closer’ and ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ having surpassed the impressive milestone, another huge example of electronic music’s influence on the platform. The duo are certainly responsible for a lot of the electronic music based revenue on Spotify, accounting for a high volume of streams.
With so much evidence to support electronic music’s dominance on Spotify, it is now more important than ever to get your tracks onto the platform and make sure that they are visible. Spotify is a valuable output tool, with unlimited potential for revenue and exposure. As the influence of electronic music increases, the genre is more at the forefront of the platform than ever before, make sure to take advantage of this. The domination of the ‘Mint’ playlist is also a reminder that playlists have a huge degree of influence on Spotify. Being featured on any playlist with over 1000 followers, particularly the largest playlists, can have a huge impact on the success of your releases. It is now more important than ever to contact playlist owners when releasing a track, this is just as important as contacting bloggers, and could determine whether your release succeeds or fails.
Beatport
Having almost doubled its track sales in 2017, Beatport also remains a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Launched in 2004, the American site is primarily directed towards selling tracks to DJs but is also open to fans looking to purchase high quality copies of their favourite tracks. The site also sells stems and sounds to producers, with a substantial catalogue of options. According to the IMS Business Report, Beatport achieved an 8% growth in track sales during the first quarter of 2018, having only seen a 2% growth in the second quarter of 2017. Last month, Beatport acquired streaming site Pulselocker in a strategic move. The purchase was made due to the technology behind Pulselocker, which allowed DJs to access a ‘locker’ of music without the need for an Internet connection. This software is due to play a huge part in Beatport’s own streaming service, due to launch late 2018. In the third quarter of 2018 Beatport plans to release genre page charts, allowing emerging labels to gain further exposure. In the last quarter of 2018, the platform plans to release its subscription service for DJs, allowing unlimited re-downloads. Early 2019, Beatport plans to offer entire catalogue streaming integrated with leading software applications, a revolutionary move that will have a massive affect on live performances.
With Beatport set to revolutionize the way DJs access music, the platform looks set to continue on its continuous growth trend. Making sure that all of your releases are available on Beatport is now more important than ever. With the potential to receive revenue from downloads and streaming in the future, Beatport could be set to offer more revenue to artists than any other platform. Make sure that all of your tracks are available on the platform prior to the streaming introduction in order to receive a chunk of this revenue and benefit from the surge in interest around the platform.
The IMS Business Report is a great indicator of current and future trends within the electronic music industry. By looking at data surrounding music output sites like Spotify and Beatport, it is possible to predict the future shape of the industry, and make decisions around where to focus your attention. The exponential growth of Spotify and Beatport proves that the two platforms should be at the forefront of your campaign planning. As 2018 moves into its middle stages, now is the perfect time to make sure that all of your releases are on both Spotify and Beatport, and that you are marketing the links efficiently.