Composium Digest: WMG continues to invest... in gaming
Anouk Dyussembayeva | March 23, 2021
Composium Digest is a newsletter-only addition delivered once a week. Get overviews of interesting stories happening in the music industry, stay informed of various opportunities music startups and companies offer, and catch up on some of the Composium articles you might have missed.
Hi! It’s DistroKid again
Just this past week I wrote about how the digital distributor combined forces with Snapchat to directly license music on the social platform, and partnered with Twitch a month earlier for the Affiliate Program.
Now, DistroKid is teaming up with Audiomack, a music streaming platform, and let its artists directly distribute their work.
Who knows, given how fast DistroKid aligns with different music players, perhaps the next Composium Digest will feature yet another story about the distributor’s new partnership.
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Blockchain x Streaming
Eluvio announced the launch of Eluvio Live, which is a new streaming and ticketing platform “for concerts and premium exhibitions distributed directly from artists.”
The first to be streaming in 4K, all of its content is sold through blockchain, with musicians and publishers keeping control over the ownership of their content.
You can also mint NFTs, making it only so logical — the tokens rely on blockchain.
“Artists deserve clarity about the economics of music streaming”
Yes, Spotify, I absolutely agree.
The streaming powerhouse launched its Loud & Clear website, which was created to offer more data on how streaming works and the numbers behind it.
Spotify admits that it has been “too quiet on the topic” of streaming. Hoping to finally get the conversation going, Loud&Clear is filled with stats and FAQs.
Amid many claiming that the current payout model is extremely unfair and favors only the top-level artists, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek believes that it’s streaming that primarily saved the staggering music industry.
In fact, the amount of musicians earning more than $100K per year is up 80%, with the number of people whose music has generated $1M annually is up 90% from 2017.
These numbers sound amazing! Orrrr, do they?
According to Music Business Worldwide, there are 13,400 musicians generating more than $50k. The people that are earning that amount make up only 0.2% out of the estimated 7 million artists on the platform. 0.2% — let that sink in.
So, the question of where is the industry headed is still left open. But who knows, maybe NFTs will solve the problem? Although, I doubt that too — given the craze around the non-fungible tokens, who knows when the bubble will pop.
UMG x Boomplay
Boomplay, one of Africa’s leading music streaming platforms, announced a new licensing agreement with Universal Music Group.
This isn’t the first deal the two are stricking — back in 2018, they inked a licensing agreement too, but the platform distributed UMG’s catalog to only seven countries. Now, the new agreement means that the music will be available in 47 countries across Africa.
To note, Boomplay currently has around 50 million MAU (monthly active users). With this deal, the number of listeners is expected to increase.
Another TikTok competitor arrives to the market
Although YouTube launched Shorts last year, only users in India had access to it. Now, the app is arriving to the US.
Funny enough, if we look at Andreessen Horowitz’ Platforms vs. Verticals article, YouTube was the platform that created a vertical for short videos, a field in which TikTok became the major player. And now they are direct competitors.
On top of offering the standard tools, YouTube prepared new audio-centered ones for this launch. On one hand, you have the catalogs of “hundreds of record labels and publishers.” At the same time, you can remix and experiment with any sound from a Short, or even a YouTube video.
That could mean, potentially, that you would be able to add your own instrumentals or voice to an Ariana Grande song (if she makes it available). Imagine how much room that opens up for collaboration and music creation?
OnlyFans to launch a creator fund
OnlyFans, a content subscription platform, is putting a lot of effort into attracting a wide range of content creators, primarily focusing on the music industry.
In order to gauge up-and-coming musicians, the service offers a £20,000 grant to four artists in the UK. All you need to do to apply is submit a 90-second video.
OnlyFans continues to grow, its fanbase consisting of over 100 million registered users, and was included as one of the 10 most innovative social media companies of 2021 for “establishing a new beachhead in the creator economy.”
What California Labor Law Overhaul means for musicians
Lorena Gonzalez, California State Assemblywoman, introduced Free Artists from Industry Restrictions (FAIR) Act.
How does it work? The act caps contracts of record labels at seven years — major companies now won’t be able to hold onto artists for more than that period of time.
Why is it important? While many had this protection in other areas, musicians and actors did not.
That wasn’t always the case: at the start, musicians were protected too. Because many would get out of contracts —after the labels already invested so much money into them — and not completing their side of the agreement, the law was amended.
Of course, companies took advantage of that, and many artists would be stuck in unfair deals for years. Now, with the streaming economy growing more and more every year and labels not having to invest as much as before, the tables are turning once again.
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WMG continues to invest… in gaming
Overwolf, an open platform which lets you build modifications and other additions for PC games, raised a $52.5 million Series C round. Among leading investors are Warner Music Group and UBISOFT.
This isn’t the first time WMG invests in a company like this — in fact, it participated in Roblox’s $520 million funding round in January.
To note, the gaming company recently went public, sending its market value to almost $39.5 billion.
On the other side of the spectrum we see SoundCloud, which had its livestream Fortnite tournament, Player One, on February 18.
And since we’re talking Fortnite — the game had a number of pop stars, from Marshmello to Travis Scott, performing concerts. Roblox has also had its share of online interactive concerts, with Lil Nas X taking over the stage in November.
As the gaps between music and gaming continue to blur and disappear, and the demand for interactive gaming and streaming experiences escalates, we will see more and more music powerhouses investing into such gaming platforms.
mySongbird to crowdfund
With the news that startups can now crowdfund up to $5 million per year, many companies have been trying this opportunity out.
mySongbird, dedicated to streaming classical concert performances and music documentaries, is launching its first crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder.
Minimum investment a person can make? $250, with an accompanying “free annual subscription to its entire library.”
Bandsintown Plus now on Apple TV
Bandsintown, a concert streaming service, will have its concerts featured on Apple TV. The Bandsintown Plus gives you access to exclusive performances and interact with artists. The roster includes musicians like Charli XCX, Haim, Whitney, and more.
TikTok offers more immersive concerts
Madison Beer did an immersive reality concert on TikTok LIVE on March 19.
The technology was able to capture her movements in real time, making her digital avatar look more like Madison Beer than Madison Beer herself.
The event took place in a “digital recreation of the Sony Hall concert venue,” and is something “that has to be seen to be believed.”
NFTs, NFTs, NFTs
Post Malone’s AUX Live, a streaming platform specializing in concerts, will mint Fyooz-based NFTs.
Joe Conyers III will be joining Crypto.com as Executive Vice President of the invite-only NFT platform, which is currently in development. It will also feature “the world’s top artists, athletes and sports leagues.”
For what price would you buy someone’s fart? Because Alex Ramírez-Mallis, a film director, is selling his. And if you think people aren’t interested in making this investment, they actually are — the highest bid for the 52-minute audio file is $183.
Who signed with who
HRVY, an English singer and TV presenter, signed with BMG. The artist, who has a combined one billion streams, is planning on releasing an EP very soon, and is excited to work together with the team to create more music.
Mykki Blanco signed to Transgressive Records. First created as a video art project, they “have pushed hip hop to some of its most untethered bounds.”
Photo Finish Records is now home to award-winning singer Ross Copperman.
Catch up on Composium’s original articles!
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