How streaming will continue to change everything in the music business
In the backdrop of Spotify becoming a publicly traded company, streaming is working for a majority of stakeholders in today’s music industry. After over a decade of being ravaged by piracy, the industry as a whole has finally returned to growth, as shown by upward trends across local trade body data globally. Like any entity experiencing growth however, questions about the extent and durability of this prosperity loom overheard, as does the everlasting question of, ‘Well, we had vinyl, then cassettes, then CDs, then digital downloads, now streaming, what’s next?’ The ‘what’s next’ conversation often segues into discussions about the topics de jour such as AI, AR/VR, chatbots, smart speakers and the connected home. All of these technologies are likely to have an impact, to varying degrees. However, the notion that any one of these technologies will fundamentally revolutionise the business is fanciful and simplified – particularly considering the extent of past format an...