Memories of physical concerts may seem a little hazy at this point. Nevertheless, the music industry wasn’t asleep during the pandemic, and some events of the past few months might very well change its future.
Taylor Swift had time to deliver on her promise to rerecord her old albums. She not only set a precedent for young artists trapped in unfavorable conditions, but also motivated women to speak up against injustice. Spotify still can’t make money, and artists can’t take Spotify – so what will happen next? And K-pop is introducing virtual superstars and personalized fan experiences while plotting the world takeover. What does all of this mean for the future of music industry?
The impeccable revenge of Taylor Swift
Taylor grew up from a teen country sensation to a music powerhouse. She has one of the most dedicated fandoms on the planet. She is also one of today’s most refreshingly outspoken celebrities, not that it stopped others trying to take advantage of her. At least, that’s what Taylor’s very public anger suggests.
Her feud with record executives Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta has made headlines for months. Long story short: the singer has been fighting tooth and nail for the right to own the master rights to her first six albums. According to Swift, they’ve changed hands against her will. On top of that, Braun was truly the last person on Earth she would want to benefit. Obviously, she was furious. “Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it,” she wrote at the time of the sale. Her masters recently sold again for $300 million, while the singer saw none of the money.
It would have been a sad story if it ended here. But Taylor is an artist who writes her own songs, so she had one more card up her sleeve. While she lost the master rights, she still has the publishing rights of her old songs. Lyrics, melodies, and compositions are all hers. And so the musician is rerecording her old albums one by one. So far so good: Fearless (Taylor’s version) just hit the stores, and critics loved it even more than her 2008 original.
What does it mean in legal terms? She is essentially diminishing the value of her old masters. She was already exercising her power anyway, as she wouldn’t let any of her old songs appear in TV shows or advertisements. Now that the new recordings exist, Swift can insist on licensing these versions, and thus all the profits will be hers. Of course, she can also continue blocking the old recordings. Now that’s what you call a good revenge story.
Her dedication sets a precedent that will help artists exploited by their companies. Especially those who signed unfavorable contracts at a young age similarly to Swift and remained trapped for years to come. After all, she is one of the biggest names in music. It means something if she makes the whole world speak about the right to own your creations.
Like many others, the star was once told to “be a good little girl and shut up”, otherwise, she will be punished. And look how that turned out. Instead, the singer set an example for the future young women, be it in the music industry or elsewhere.
Spotify under pressure
It’s a well-known fact that Spotify pays its artists very little. Yes, the streaming service pushed by its profit-hungry investors might disagree. However, it went as far as British MPs currently investigating if the system is fair, claiming that (not only) Spotify pays artists as little as 13% of the overall income generated.
Most musicians don’t even earn a living wage on Spotify, and only roughly 1.4% of them make 90% of royalties. That still only translates to an approximate $22k per artist per quarter. If Spotify pays around $0.0033 per stream, only the most popular songs can make (a couple of) millions. But remember – artists will see a fraction of that.
Some artists started teaming up to voice their dissatisfaction. Union of Musicians and Allied Workers demands that Spotify pays at least 1 cent per stream. A multi-city protest took place on March 15th, but nothing has changed. The streaming giant is still refusing to pay up.
Even the biggest stars have had enough. Last year, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said musicians can’t afford to release music only once in a couple of years anymore. Artists felt outrage, and REM’s Mike Mills summed it up for all of them. “Music = product and must be churned out regularly,’ says billionaire Daniel Ek. Go f*ck yourself,” he tweeted. The streaming platform has heard similar feedback from the likes of Jay-Z and Thom Yorke.
But how can Spotify step up if they are still losing money?
The dissatisfaction and criticism have been brewing for years. However, no one, not even Jay Z’s artist-friendly Tidal, was able to reshape the system. None of Spotify’s main competitors is an artists’ paradise either.
Until someone can break the vicious circle and change the future of music, fans have alternative support options. One would be a membership platform like Patreon. Alternatively, they can buy artist merch, and one day, hopefully soon: go to concerts.
Is K-pop tech the future of music industry?
We’ve had The Weeknd’s augmented reality concert held on TikTok. Travis Scott delivered an unforgettable music experience on Fortnite. But if you want to talk about exciting tech innovation in music, you might want to start with K-pop. This is the industry that just debuted a æspa, a girl group with virtual avatar members. It also produced K/DA, a popular virtual girl group based on League of Legends characters, voiced by real singers.
For years, K-pop has leveraged technology to connect with fans. That’s nothing new; your favorite Western celebrities go live on Instagram every once in a while. However, K-pop idols use dedicated platforms such as V Live or Weverse: essentially their fan clubs with minimal trolling you know from Twitter. When a member of BTS turned on V Live to sit at his desk and casually chat with fans, 22 million people joined in real-time. That’s more than the Grammys. It’s not something you’d see on Instagram or YouTube lives either, even if a powerhouse like BTS steps in. Clearly, companies running these “safe spaces” for true fans are doing something right.
Speaking of BTS, dubbed the biggest band in the world today, last year, they performed for almost 1 million viewers – virtually. With the help of AR and XR, they created an illusion of being at four various venues at once. Fans could even choose from several viewing angles.
The mastermind behind BTS’ world domination is the South Korean Hybe Corporation, which is not only an entertainment company. They also have a good eye for future-defining tech. Their recent $3.6 million acquisition of a startup Supertone suggests that artificial intelligence might have a significant role in the future of music industry.
Supertone can perfectly imitate a natural human voice with a range of emotions. Based on what it has learned, it creates a new one that can even sing. “One of the possibilities would be personalized concerts for fans. While three-dimensional audio, dynamic screens are few technologies currently incorporated to virtual livestreamed concerts, our technology will enable more personalized content through the mobile platform,” Supertone’s co-founder and CEO Lee Kyo-gu said for The Korea Herald.
How personalized? You could hear the artist call out your name during the concert, or you could listen to them singing in your own language. Of course, this will also open up space for more virtual singers, such as K/DA, but this time, with unique voices.
If you’re thinking about disastrous scenarios where real artists no longer have value, that’s not Supertone’s mission. As the company explained, their creation is essentially an instrument that can add another dimension to music. So the intention is not competition, but instead, collaboration with artists.
In other news, Hybe has just purchased a media company Ithaca Holdings for $1 billion and now has the likes of Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Demi Lovato under its wings. It sure does seem that K-pop’s cutting-edge tech and know-how, be it in communication with fans or music, is coming for the Western music industry.
