Streaming Take Over
The other day my dad was telling my mom how he wanted some CD. I told him CD's are becoming obsolete, she (my mom) told him she could download it for him. That made me realize that my parents who have seen records (which are making a little of a comeback), 8-tracks, cassette tapes and CDs are catching on to the fact that technology is changing and music mainly is found online or streaming services.
Recently artists have been dropping "exclusives" on streaming services such as Tidal, Apple Music and Spotify. Streaming is becoming more dominant some music listeners may have multiple subscriptions, like TV viewers have Comcast and Netflix, music lovers may have Tidal and Pandora.
To fulfill and end his contract, Frank Ocean dropped a visual album, "Endless", through Universal Music and then shortly after released his full album "Blonde" exclusively on Apple Music. After Frank Ocean did that, chief executive of Universal Music, Lucian Grainge sent an internal memo banning all Universal artists from making exclusive deals with streaming services. Obviously when artists do that it means a loss of revenue for the record company. Although it has been reported by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) that record labels have finally increased their revenue by 8.1% this year, but not close to what they were making in the CD era.
Having exclusive deals may be more favorable to artists as fas as making money, but not all artists are for it. In an interview with Apple's Beats 1 Radio, Lady Gaga said, "I told my label that if they signed those contracts with Apple Music and Tidal, I'd leak all my own new music." In a way exclusive deals can limit your audience and that could be how Gaga feels.
Spotify says they think exclusive deals are bad for the artists and the fans. I can agree with that a little bit. For instance with Apple Music, it may not be available for users of Windows or Blackberry phones. Although it is available in the Google Play store for Android users. It also may not be feasible to add another bill to one's budget. Streaming services cost from $5 to $20 a month if you choose to subscribe. Some offer free services with commercials, but also not all the music you would like to hear is available on just one streaming service. So there are pros and cons.
A great thing for artists who decide to drop exclusives on a streaming service is that the Recording Academy changed its rules so that streaming-only releases are eligible for Grammys. To be eligible the album; must have been released between October 1, 2015 and September 30, 2016 and been available on a major paid-subscription streaming service as a HD quality comparable to that of a CD. So this makes Chance The Rapper's "Coloring Book" eligible for Grammy nominations, which is good news for him because I honestly think he should be nominated and win Album of The Year. That's just my opinion.
As smart phones become more popular and people are continuously listening to music on the go, streaming services are only going to stay relevant. Music artists record labels and streaming services are going to have to figure out a way to keep the fans happy by offering accessible music at an affordable costs.