A report Wednesday (8/15) on the BBC News site states, “On-demand services like Spotify and We7 will generate £696m for the global music industry in 2012—a rise of 40%, new research has suggested. It means streaming music is the fastest-growing sector of the industry, overtaking downloads, which are due to see an increase of 8.5% this year. CDs and vinyl still dominate the industry, accounting for 61% of all music sold worldwide. But sales of physical products dropped by 12% globally, and 30% in the UK. The research was carried out by industry watcher Strategy Analytics. … ‘Free’ streaming services, which use advertising to generate revenues, had raised £3.4 million, an increase of 20% compared to the same period in 2011. … However, some musicians have complained about royalty rates on streaming services—which pay artists a fee every time their song is played. Cellist Zoe Keating recently released her earnings in a public Google document, and claimed she was paid just $281.87 (£179.70) by Spotify after her songs were played 72,800 times by users.”
Posted August 16, 2012
