Moon Jelly marketing predictions for 2019

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2019 has been a year absolutely full of significant advancements within the music industry regarding streaming, sales, technology, and much more. Whether it’s the new portal for music pitching via Spotify for artists, or the progress within voice devices allowing people to stream music flawlessly from anywhere in the home, it is undeniable that the way in which the structure of the music industry is changing. During this article, we’re going to discuss some marketing predictions in which the music industry will evolve over the next 12 months, and what kind of changes we are able to expect during 2019.

Firstly, Artificial Intelligence is almost guaranteed to have a significant impact on the music industry during the year 2019, and beyond. Whether it’s translating social media posts on the likes of Facebook, Twitter & Instagram, or accurate playlist placement on streaming platforms (think of Spotify’s Discover Weekly), it is certain that this technology will change the music industry forever. As well as this, it is also probable that Artificial Intelligence will allow more sophisticated targeting of fans for ticket sales, tour route planning, and many other capabilities to maximize potential profits as a music producer.

Over the past few years, the amount of music that we own has been reduced dramatically. After all, hardly any of us still possess the technology to even play a CD due to the sheer amount of portable devices that we own. Instead of playing CD’s, we now subscribe to streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and many others. Therefore, it is pretty likely that the future model of the music industry will be based around subscription. Companies such as Splice have allowed producers to temporarily rent sounds, FX & Presets for a low cost of several dollars per month. During 2019, it is probable that many more companies will follow a similar subscription model to provide access to a lot more people within the music industry. For example, DAW’s charging a monthly fee to download the software to your laptop (similar to what Adobe Creative Clown already does with Photoshop).

Another big change that will affect the music industry during 2019 is the mass adoption from consumers of voice devices around the house. Within the past 36 months, Amazon Alexa and Google Home have provided the entire planet with a modern form of smart-speakers around the home. With the ability to play music directly from your favourite streaming platform, most people currently use it for just that: casual music listening. However, new skills are being introduced daily that will essentially allow new functionalities within our daily lives. For example, you could ask Alexa when your favourite artist is next on tour, and book tickets for a date within seconds, or even book an Uber to a show. The improvements in voice technology will provide the average consumer with speed & efficiency to interact with their favourite producers on a totally new level during 2019.

Despite all the changes on the consumer side of the music industry, it’s probable that there will also be a lot of differences with aspects of marketing. For example, record labels & producers are starting to realize how effective Facebook advertising truly is. With the ability to grow a fan base of thousands for less than $100, it comes as no surprise to learn that many people are getting in on the opportunity whilst it’s still excessively cheap. However, as large brands also start to spend more on the platform, the price of advertising will inevitably rise significantly (possibly by 10x) due to supply & demand of “real estate” within news feeds. For example, Festivals can target people who attended the previous year, promoters can target people within a certain city that love EDM, and producers can target similar artists to themselves. With so much opportunity on the platform, it only makes sense that music industry adoption will increase drastically over the coming months.

A rising trend within the music industry is businesses creating a lot more depth within their brand to establish a strong relationship with their customers. The number of followers you have on social media or streaming platforms doesn’t mean anything unless people are actually listening to your music. Which is why you have to create value for your fans. You have to create a strong community. Mindlessly self-promoting yourself on Facebook, and then complaining it’s dead when your posts don’t get engagement is pointless. The platform has over a billion users. It’s not dead. Instead, it’s a case of you not creating a strong enough community around your artistic brand and so people don’t want to engage with your content. Simple. 

Depth is about creating a community around your fans. It’s interacting with them on a daily basis in the comments, replying to messages, posting behind the scenes content regularly so they can see what you’re up to, and ultimately enticing them to want to engage with your content whenever you put out new music. A good example is the fashion industry: people purchase Louis Vuitton because it’s Louis… branding. 

Going into 2019, the music industry will undertake several fundamental shifts. With artificial intelligence, brand depth, and voice devices on the rise, it is only inevitable that all these changes will happen at an extremely fast pace. Similar to natural selection, it is a survival of the fittest: only the producers who are willing to adapt to the changes are the ones who will be the most successful within the future of the music industry.