On this week’s show we discuss the start-of-year memos from the bosses of Universal Music and Warner Music, both of whom put the spotlight in super-serving superfans, plus the ASA ruling against Viagogo’s advertorial pieces in the NME, and lots of stats about the music market in 2023.
SECTION TIMES
01: New year memos (00:04:45)
02: News in brief (00:18:37)
03: Viagogo (00:25:01)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)
THIS WEEK’S MAIN STORIES
Universal “most successful company in the history of the music industry” hoots Grainge in 2024 memo
Universal Music CEO Lucian Grainge has sent out his start-of-the-year memo, formally welcoming the changes that have been made to the streaming model which he first demanded a year ago, and confirming that super-serving superfans will be a priority in 2024
Lucian Grainge’s 2024 memo to Universal Music Group staff
Universal Music boss Lucian Grainge has published his traditional new year message to the company’s staff. In it, he highlights successes in 2023 and looks ahead at what’s to come in 2024. Read the whole message in full here
Warner Music boss talks streaming model and super-fans in start-of-year memo
Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl has sent a memo to his staff setting out a vision for the next ten years in the music business – putting the focus on boosting engagement, increasing the value of music and evolving how the major’s teams work together
Universal “most successful company in the history of the music industry” hoots Grainge in 2024 memo
Universal Music CEO Lucian Grainge has sent out his start-of-the-year memo, formally welcoming the changes that have been made to the streaming model which he first demanded a year ago, and confirming that super-serving superfans will be a priority in 2024
NEWS IN BRIEF
Vinyl sales grow, cassettes slump; streaming now 87.7% of UK music consumption
BPI’s annual stats bang shows just how much Olivia Rodrigo’s fans love cassettes. Someone has to. Plus some other lovely chunky consumption numbers.
UK music retail brought in £2.2 billion in 2023 says ERA
Total UK revenues generated by retailers and digital platforms in music, video and games in 2023 were up 7% to £11.87 billion – video saw the highest levels of growth and is now outperforming gaming once again
India’s streaming growth explodes to hit over one trillion streams, Gen Z pull back on streaming subscription spend
In 2023 83% of the global streaming catalogue failed to reach the new thousand stream ‘artist-centric’ threshold, while India saw exponential growth in stream volumes. Read CMU’s expert analysis of the numbers.
ALSO MENTIONED
Music industry welcomes proposed new laws to help performers protect their voices and likeness from AI clones
Proposals have been introduced in the US House Of Representatives – and in the state of Tennessee – that will allow artists to control the use of their voice in the context of AI
Artificial Intelligence and the music industry in 2023
Music industry experts CMU take a deep-dive look at everything that happened in AI and the music business during 2023. Bookmark this for later!
CMU’s 2024 Masterclass Sessions
Get an expert overview of the topics that will define the music business in 2024, including copyright, streaming and AI, as well as economics of streaming developments.
Sony Music chief talks streaming, short-form, gaming and AI in investor presentation
Sony Music chief Rob Stringer spoke as part of an event for investors in its parent company Sony Group earlier today, setting out his perspective on trends in the music industry, and discussing some of the challenges and opportunities that have become big talking points in recent months. So that