Tours and in-person live music events stopped by coronavirus this year have caused a lot of bigger artists such as Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga to cancel album release plans. This means that the power is now in the hands of smaller or independent artists who rely mostly on a digital fanbase of dedicated music streamers to gain a foothold now so that life post-coronavirus will be all the sweeter.
Streaming numbers are on the rise in China
Although there was a dip in streaming numbers in March in the United States, music streaming has been steadily on the rise in China with revenue going up by 17% since last year. With the live music sector shutting down for the foreseeable future in most areas of the world, working on your digital presence could put you in a good position to monetise your music during these exceptional circumstances and beyond. Research has shown that China-based music consumers have a voracious appetite for Western music especially pop, soundtracks and folk music according to Ifpi's 2019 Music Listening report.
New consumer habits are boosting music streaming stats
In pre-corona times, many people streamed music the most during the work commute or visits to the gym. But even though many people have now shifted to working from home, this does not mean that people are streaming less. On the contrary - being stuck inside more often has increased people’s appetite for new music and the sale of smart speaker devices to use around the home, keeping people willing to pay for music streaming subscriptions. The growth in home exercising has also had an impact; fitness bikes such as Peloton are growing in popularity and increasing the demand for access to music - instrumental music in particular. Given that these new habits have pushed the popularity of music streaming rather than reduced it, making your music available on as many platforms as possible could be a worthwhile investment.
Using sync licensing to reach new audiences
Besides making sure your music is available on streaming platforms, sync licensing is another smart way to gain recognition and monetise your art. Your music could be the soundtrack to the latest video games, films, adverts and more. There are many platforms and services to help you land sync licensing deals such as Syncr and Artlist. In China, syncing opportunities can arise from having your music available on a wide range of different music services, where it might be selected to feature in different projects according to demand. Many of the streaming and sync licensing services in China are integrated so rather than submitting music for syncing opportunities, you can be “scouted” when a suitable opportunity becomes available. At musicinfo, we screen all music that is distributed through us and regularly pitch new submissions to sync licensing services.
Why distribute to China?
Distributing to China currently has many advantages - for one, China has an impressive population of over 1.3 billion with a rapidly growing middle class who are heavy consumers of digital music. This demographic shift has had a direct and visible impact on the Chinese music industry; China went from being the 14th largest music market in 2015 to the 7th in 2018. This means digital music consumption is now increasing at a rate 7 times faster than it was 6 years ago. Generating income from streaming and sync licensing opportunities are currently some of the best ways to help you get ahead in preparation for a post-pandemic world. Building your fanbase and digital reach cannot only earn you royalties now but it can sow the seeds for future touring opportunities in new locations for when the live sector reopens.
Now that the listening power of mainland China is overtaking the European market, you only have things to gain from getting your music out there. Musicinfo can offer you quality distribution packages to more than 50 streaming platforms and digital radio stations in Mainland China no matter what your budget. To get started, check out our distribution deals starting from as little as 29€: https://musicinfo.io/music-distribution. If you would like to find out more about sync licensing pitching possibilities with us, please drop us an email at support@musicinfo.io.
Sources
https://musically.com/2020/09/21/the-future-of-streaming-and-music-marketing-post-covid-19/
https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/streaming-music-down-coronavirus-971059/
https://www.statista.com/outlook/209/117/music-streaming/china
https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Music-Listening-2019-1.pdf
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