The pandemic has impacted the music and live entertainment industry in many ways.
Content that can be consumed at home increased revenue, while content types that are typically consumed on the go (radio) or in person were negatively impacted.
Returning to as normal a state of affairs as possible after the pandemic, VIP+ took a closer look at the music industry (podcasts, radio, streaming music, live events) to assess key post-COVID-19 trends.
Podcast and Digital Media Revenues Continue to Rise
Podcasts and digital media continue their upward trend, with year-over-year increases every time companies report. The key issue here is that many of the major podcast providers do not currently analyze revenue from their media. Analysts can glean indicative trends, but they are far from a complete industry picture.
YouTube is the most popular podcast source, followed by Spotify, Apple and Pandora, according to the “Demographic Divide” consumer survey for VIP+ conducted by consumer insight experts GetWizer. Of note is the fact that general podcast listeners made up half of the surveyed sample, and the other half said they never listened to podcasts. With domestic growth slowing overall, the market may be starting to plateau.
Radio is at a crossroads
First, good news. Two-fifths of her consumers in the US over the age of 15 say they like listening to the radio. However, in a similar proportion, Streaming He said the service was better than radio, with 1 in 10 he being very pessimistic about the future of radio. These respondents tended to be young, suggesting that radio faces a long-term problem of acquiring new listeners to maintain its audience.
Yet for now, radio remains the breadwinner, surpassing major players Audacy, Cumulus Media and iHeartMedia in revenue in 2022. Venturing into digital media and podcasts is one way these companies are future-proofing their business. iHeart has also launched a number of his FAST channels to reach audiences who consume media in non-traditional radio formats.
Satellite radio shows revenue growth
Satellite radio is another format that is seeing growth, at least financially. SiriusXM said he earned $1.7 billion in the second quarter of 2022, up 12% from two years ago. Satellite radio operators have made concerted efforts to expand their audience from cars to general streaming.
Subscribers are now down by about 200,000 from Q2 2020, which is partially explained by the continuing car shortage in the US (SiriusXM is installed in many new cars). It has been). Satellite radio is a possibility, as synergies are expected with Liberty Media’s fellow Live Nation. Its longevity surprises many.
Streaming and digital music are still growing
Nearly half of Americans surveyed by GetWizer about VIP+ say they value listening to music ad-free. This is what streaming music services offer for a fee. A similar percentage said being able to choose what they listen to is very important.
This is reflected in the revenue growth that major music labels derive from streaming music. This year, in April, May and June, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group combined brought him $3.12 billion in streaming revenue, more than in the same period in 2020. $1 billion more.
This is reflected in the reported large number of users of several streaming services that share average monthly user data with their subscribers. Amazon, Apple and others haven’t shared information about their music services, so we can’t really get the full picture, but the growing label revenue from this format suggests that all major services are being used fairly by consumers. It suggests that
Touring is back
Live event hosting has been ticking up since the second quarter of last year, and is picking up again this spring. Live Nation reported that he held more than 8,000 events in the United States and Canada during this period.
VIP+/GetWizer’s Demographic Gap survey found that 1 in 5 people in the US said attending a live concert was important to them, which is reflected in the growth of live events. Interestingly, about 1 in 20 people say that her virtual concerts are better than live concerts.
VIP+/GetWizer survey data shows that the worst of the pandemic is probably behind us, with all formats of self-reported live event attendance increasing compared to a year ago.
Revenue surged in 2022 as demand for live events increased. Live Nation reported he made $3.6 billion from concerts and festivals in the second quarter, up $3.3 billion from the same period last year.
Artists are also making more money from touring, with both UMG and WMG reporting merch and other revenue, the majority of which comes from artist tours. Compared to the previous year, merchandise sales are up his $124 million, or 62%. Coming in a period of high inflation, this suggests that demand to see artists is currently inelastic, boding well not only for the artists themselves, but for labels and tour operators.