2016 has been the year (so far) of Adele, the return of Bieber, and new pop artists at the top of the charts. However, for the first time in recent history, physical product of old pop is outselling new pop. This could be seen as a result of the streaming effect, and the fact that the most engaged music consumer under the age of 35 is now more commonly streaming new releases rather than purchasing physical product.
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According to music industry news, Adele’s recent “25” album has sold over 5 million copies, but she also did not elect to have it on the main streaming site, Spotify. She kind of sealed her fate in a great way by making this decision and the masses responded by opening their wallets and purchasing the record.
However, this is a music business fluke these days, because Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music are basically granting access to entire catalogs of most of the top searched artists from across all music genres for a nominal monthly fee or completely free of charge.
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According to other recent news and music articles, there has also been a resurgence of the Vinyl LP. Young people are digging back and experiencing classic and new records on Vinyl. Most of the Vinyl out there comes from older artists/bands, but new artists are getting in on the trend and releasing physical Vinyl copies of their new releases. Record Store Day has become a phenomenon in itself and with the help of social media has brought attention to not only Vinyl, but also physical products and older catalogs of various music artists.
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There has also been an unfortunate serious of music icons that have passed late in 2015 and in early 2016, which in turn has brought their music to the forefront and to the top music charts. For example, it has been a month since David Bowie has passed and nearly the same since Glenn Frey has passed, and both Bowie and the Eagles are represented in the Billboard 200 above many new pop artists.
With all of the shifts in the way we consume and experience music in 2016, only time will tell if these trends will continue. For now, I think it is great that there are so many ways to listen and consume music. As long as the music industry and the powers that be strive to find a way to fairly compensate songwriters, artists, producers, engineers and the like, it will be interesting to watch things continuing to evolve.
For more on me and to experience my single “Paris,” click here to download it, click here to stream it, and click here to check out the official music video.
Thank you for the support and belief and always #chasedreams.
Much love,
Erica Chase