Joe Rogan is taking his massively successful podcast to Spotify in an exclusive deal that is upending the entertainment business.
The Joe Rogan Experience is the most popular podcast on the planet. Each month, the show’s in-depth interviews earn 190 million downloads and generate over 300 million YouTube views. That engagement translates to a ton of cash for Rogan and every platform hosting his show, but soon fans will have only one place to turn for their JRE fix.
Spotify announced an exclusive partnership with Joe Rogan on Tuesday, May 19, that will bring both the audio and video version of his platform to the service by the end of 2020. News of the deal and Rogan’s rumored $100-million payday has upended every facet of the entertainment business, with executives and artists at every level wondering what the move means for the future of audio. After all, podcasting is huge, but is it 9-figures huge?
To put this deal into perspective, an artist promoting their music through Spotify would need at least 28 billion streams to earn that much money. Drake, the most successful artist in Spotify history, only crossed the 28 billion stream threshold in late 2019.
But the deal is done and there is no turning back. Artists will continue to complain, but we see a lot of good things developing as a result of this announcement. For starters, a more Spotify users raises the likelihood of increased streams and discovery. Then there is the video element to Rogan’s deal, which will require a massive UI update that creates a world of possibilities for all creators.
In this Music Biz News update, host James Shotwell breaks down Rogan’s deal and explores the many ways his Spotify partnership will help artists everywhere in time.
Get more of the latest music headlines and learn how to succeed as an artist by subscribing to our YouTube channel!
Bandcamp waived its share of the revenue earned from song and album sales last Friday.
In these uncertain times, it is good to know there are people in the world who are passionate about helping musicians get ahead. Touring right now is impossible, and streams are declining, but last Friday, album sales for indie artists were up in a big way thanks to Bandcamp.
As previously reported, Bandcamp waived its share of any revenue generated through its platform last Friday, March 20. The one-day promotion was part of a global effort to support independent musicians struggling to pay bills in light of Covid-19. Artists and labels alike promoted the initiative, as did several high-profile publications, and fans, thankfully, came out to show their support.
The numbers tell a remarkable story: on a typical Friday, fans buy about 47,000 items on Bandcamp, but this past Friday, fans bought nearly 800,000, or $4.3 million worth of music and merch. That’s more than 15 times the service’s Friday, and at the peak, fans were buying 11 items per second.
A post announcing the sales figure on the Bandcamp blog made it clear the platform is far from over supporting its artists. It reads:
“We don’t yet know the long-term impact of Covid-19, but we know that we all need music—to uplift and inspire us, to heal us, and to give us hope. We’ll continue working to make Bandcamp the best place for fans and artists to come together and sustain each other in the challenging times ahead. Thank you again, and we wish you all good health!”
It’s hard to emphasize the importance of buying music and merch from artists during this difficult time enough. As we mentioned in our Music Biz video series, streaming numbers are down across the industry, which means artists are seeing less revenue from consumption that unusual. Supporting musicians through the purchase of music and merchandise is the best way to help artists pay their bills and continue creating music.
With every artist unable to tour for the foreseeable future due to coronavirus concerns, all eyes are on music streaming and the revenue it (hopefully) produces.
Coronavirus has left countless musicians off the road, out of work, and struggling to make ends meet. The dependency on album sales and streaming has never been as high as it is now, but startling data brought to light by Rolling Stone (and other sources) say that music streams are declining.
According to numbers from Alpha Data, the data analytics provider that powers the Rolling Stone Charts, streams in the United States actually fell last week, failing to offset a far more grim downturn in digital and physical album sales.
During the week of March 13 through March 19, the same week most businesses and restaurants were forced to close, streams dropped 7.6 percent, to under 20.1 billion. Programmed streams on services like Pandora dropped 9 percent to just under 3.5 billion, while on-demand streams (audio and video) dropped 7.3 percent to 16.6 billion.
The sales side of music did not far any better. Digital song sales dropped 10.7 percent to 3.9 million, which is the lowest one-week total since Alpha Charts began tracking the sales. Physical album sales plummeted 27.6 percent and digital album sales dropped 12.4 percent. Album sales declining is nothing new, but these changes are closer to jumping off a cliff than rolling down a hill.
What the charts fail to reveal, however, are the likely reasons for these changes. With businesses closed and more people working from home, commutes have temporarily dissipated. The vast majority of listening time for individuals can be attributed to time spent in their cars, but most have nowhere to go right now. People also have limited time to themselves at home, as everyone (spouses, partners, kids) is home together. Finding time to listen to an album in full or even music in general, is difficult.
But fear not! As host James Shotwell explains in the latest episode of Music Biz, there are still reasons to keep hopes high. Some areas of music are thriving in the streaming age, and there remains a huge audience of devoted music fans who are constantly seeking the next song that makes them feel good. Your music may very well end up being the soundtrack to someone’s quarantine, and that possibility is all the reason anyone should need to keep going.
More importantly, the panic and existential dread people feel right now is temporary. As people come to understand and accept our new reality they will once again turn to music. It’s music, not film or television or video games, that offers hope for a better tomorrow. You have a role to play in the recovery, and we are going to be with you every step of the way.
According to a new analysis of official fiscal numbers, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, and Warner Music Group jointly generated $22.9m, on average, every 24 hours in 2019.
The streaming business is big business. That isn’t news, per se, but it is often hard to quantify what constitutes success on most streaming platforms. Some artists consider reaching one-million plays on any song a significant milestone. In contrast, others may see it as a disaster, and those varying perspectives make the entire world of streaming confusing to most consumers. What is, for lack of a better description, good?
Money is a different topic. Everyone agrees that making a million dollars in ant amount of time is a good thing, but making that much per hour? That’s practically unbelievable.
Our friends at MusicBusinessWorldwide have been analyzing the official fiscal numbers of major record labels, and in doing so, they stumbled across a fantastic data point. Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, and Warner Music Group jointly generated $22.9m, on average, every 24 hours in 2019.
If we look at the last quarter of 2019, things get even crazier.
According to MBW’s number-crunching of corporately-reported recorded music numbers, Universal’s artists and labels generated $1.02bn from streaming in calendar Q4 2019; Sony’s generated $669m; and Warner’s generated $589m. In total, that meant the majors’ recorded music divisions collectively turned over $2.26bn from streaming in the fourth calendar quarter, which equates to $24.8m per day, or $1.03m every single hour.
Streaming revenue growth for Warner, Sony, and Universal year over year
Crazier still is the fact that these numbers are likely to continue growing in 2020. Growth in the streaming marketplace is slowing as the market saturates. Still, there remain many demographics and countries that streaming platforms are hoping to convert to subscribers in the years to come.
Where will it stop? More importantly, what will the artists making these numbers possible see from these massive revenue streams? We don’t have answers at this time, but we hope to have more information soon.
Spotify, the world’s most popular streaming service, continues to grow at an unbelievable rate, and it has significant plans for expansion in 2020.
Spotify released its Q4 earnings report this week. The data tells us not only how the service performed at the end of 2019 but also provides a glimpse at the last year as a whole. The streaming giant is the market leader, and the latest numbers show the company is likely to remain ahead of the competition.
According to the report, Spotify now has more than 124 million premium monthly subscribers worldwide, up 29% year over year. The company gained more than 10 million subscribers in the last quarter, marking the fastest growth period in Spotify history. That success is attributed, at least in part, to an expansion of the platform’s famous “Three months for free” trial period that now includes family plans.
Ad-supported monthly Spotify users now total 153 million, up 32% on the year, and 9% on the quarter. The numbers confirm the Stockholm, Sweden-based company’s big lead over its two closest rivals – Apple Music had more than 60 million subscribers as of July 2019, and Amazon had over 55 million subscribers globally.
Revenue has risen to $2.05 billion (1.86 billion euros), up 24% from a year earlier. Analysts are predicting a slightly higher revenue for Q1 of 2020, but Spotify is trying to keep investor expectations relatively calm, estimating income relatively in line with Q4.
Spotify also announced this week that it plans to purchase Bill Simmons’ sports and pop-culture news organization The Ringer as part of its quest to claim podcast dominance. The company did not disclose what it would pay for The Ringer, which launched in 2016, but the deal is set to close in April 2020.
For more insight and analysis, let’s turn to Music Biz News host James Shotwell:
Spotify streaming royalties often upset artists, but how many plays does a musician need to live above the poverty line? We did the math.
The streaming wars are raging on. Spotify has more than one hundred million monthly subscribers worldwide, which places the platform far ahead of its peers, but Apple Music and Amazon Music are gaining millions of new users with each passing month. Whether or not the global economy can sustain the numerous streaming platforms won’t be decided for some time, but whether or not artists can survive the streaming economy is a hot topic that needs to be addressed.
Any industry expert will tell you that musicians today have it easy. There are more avenues for exposure than ever, recording music is (or can be) cheap, and an increasing number of artists are finding success outside the traditional label system. It is theoretically possible for anyone with access to a laptop and the ability to convey a melody to become a digital sensation who has fans all over the world without the aid of big label money (though, to be fair, big label money still makes a sizable difference).
Streaming payouts are a relatively new revenue stream for musicians. No one is suggesting artists survive on streaming royalties alone. Still, with physical media sales bottoming out and competition for tour revenue increasing, the money made from streaming can have a significant impact on an artist’s ability to develop, not to mention sustain themselves.
Still, every other week someone goes viral online and builds an entire career of the profits made from streaming royalties. The majority of these overnight sensations are young and without families to support, but they still have the cost of living expenses that need to be met. That got us to thinking: How many streams does it take to survive on streaming revenue alone?
According to the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), the poverty line for single-person households is $11,770. If we ignore how that figure would be hard for anyone to live on in a major city (and most mid-size cities), then we can round up to $12,000 and use streaming revenue calculators to figure out how many Spotify streams someone would need to sustain themselves.
At an average payout of $0.006 per song stream, a musician living in the United States needs 3,000,000 plays annually to have a gross income of $12,000.
Of course, if the artist has a label deal the record company would get paid before the artist. Depending on the amount owed to the label, the artist may need millions of addition plays to see the same amount of income themselves.
But what about people with families? The ASPE puts the poverty line for a family of four (2 adults, 2 children) at $24,250. Using the same average royalty rate, a musician would need 6,062,500 Spotify streams to earn that amount of gross income.
These numbers get much bigger when the musician is part of a larger group. If a band has four members and all four have families where they were the sole source of income, the group would need to generate 24,250,000 Spotify streams to gross enough so each member’s family would be at or above the poverty line.
Again, no one is saying an artist should survive on streaming royalties alone. Some will be able to make it work, especially if they have a large following and low overhead, but most will need to create as many revenue streams as possible to survive. The key to a long career in music today is through the development of a community around an artist and their work that promotes purchasing merch, physical media, and concert tickets. That has always been true, and likely won’t change anytime soon.
Every artist has a unique journey to success in the music industry, but they should all start with the same goal.
Now is the best time ever to start a music career. The opportunities for exposure and success are at an all-time high, and virtually everyone can begin making money for their creative output as soon as it’s uploaded to the internet. Artists have never been as empowered to express themselves as they are right now, and that has made music as a whole far more interesting.
But regardless of who you are and the kind of music you seek to create, the goal of every musician starting today should be the same: Growth.
Jesse Cannon, music producer and author of numerous books geared at helping musicians succeed, says all new artists should prioritize growth until they have at least 20,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Why Spotify? If you asked a few years back, Cannon would have said the goal growth on Facebook or Twitter. Online metrics matter significantly in the industry, and having a sizable audience on any platform is a clear sign to the industry at large that people care about what you’re doing.
These days, however, Spotify is the most sought-after platform for strong performance stats. After all, the streaming giant is where digital engagement transforms into money. Every stream on Spotify counts towards an artist’s income. When labels, management, and the like are looking for new talent, Spotify is the place most turn to gauge an artist’s value.
When asked for more information, Cannon said 20,000 was indicative of an artist having “buzz beyond those of us who talk about [music] all day.” Meaning, an artist with a large Spotify following confirms the general public has discovered and taken an interest in their music. There are many artists that critics and industry professionals love who may never reach a following that large, so it’s important — from a business standpoint — to know music consumers are embracing someone.
Cannon further suggested that artists should avoid releasing or working on albums until they hit the 20,000 listener goal. Until that time, Cannon recommends releasing singles regularly. Consistently giving people a new reason to care or give you a chance is a proven tactic for developing an audience. Until people are willing to wait for something that could take a long time to complete, stick with singles as a means of showcasing your talent.
Careers are built on fans. In the age of the internet, engaging with listeners is incredibly easy. You can tweet at people, post to Facebook, share stories on Instagram, create videos for YouTube, and maintain a mailing list, among other things, without spending a dime. Growth on any platform is excellent, but growth on Spotify makes a difference that other digital communities cannot. Focus your efforts, build a community, and in time you will have the audience needed to support a full-time career.
A new video from Spotify criticizes the company’s control over the mobile market with the blistering message, “Apple comes between you and the music you love to listen to.”
The streaming wars are never-ending. A decade after the launch of Spotify, consumers have more choices than ever when it comes to streaming providers. There are dozens of companies competing for billions in potential revenue, and the two biggest names are currently locked in a brawl that seems unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.
This week, Spotify was integrated into Siri, the AI assistant included with all Apple devices. Why it took so long for such an obvious thing to happen confused many, but Spotify laid out the truth in a blistering indictment of Apple and its numerous platforms in a video featuring their signature animations. Check it out:
The video can be summarized in one blistering comment:
“We don’t love it when Apple comes between you and the things you love to listen to.”
Spotify’s video explains how Apple sets itself up to be a “referee and player” in the world of audio streaming. The company sites the 30% subscription fee the app store requires Spotify to pay as proof of this claim, as well as the fact Apple does not allow subscription through any other means. Spotify also accuses Apple of using its position of power to continually move the goalposts of the streaming business in a way that benefits its platform, Apple Music. Additionally, they accuse the company of hiding their deals, including the three months of free premium service given to all new subscribers.
At the time of this post on October 8, Apple has not yet responded to Spotify’s claims.
Music streaming is a global business, but artists are unknowingly missing out on revenue due to cultural and geographic differences. Fortunately, East Goes Global has a solution.
The Chinese music market is booming, and it’s still growing. For the first time in history, the Chinese market is among the world’s largest–in 2017, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry confirmed China had finally entered the top ten music markets. This is all great news for American artists who want to break into the Chinese market but doing so remains a challenge. Many of the most popular streaming services and social media platforms in North America and Europe—Spotify, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Apple Music, etc.—are banned in China. Plenty of streaming services exist, but it’s a new development in a country with a history of piracy where the laws are constantly evolving. That’s where East Goes Global comes in. Founder Andrew Spalter is an expert in the Chinese market, stemming from his tenure as the day to day and tour manager for internationally-charting pop star Jessie J, who became the first foreign competitor to win Chinese competition and television show Singer 2018. Following Jessie J’s win [on the show], Spalter’s name began to gain notoriety in the Chinese mainstream music scene.
Spalter was soon approached by numerous superstars to aid in breaking the artists in the American market. What Spalter immediately discovered is that there is an enormous disconnect between both American and Chinese listeners and both sides were missing out on significant revenue because of it.
“You hear it all the time when speaking to entrepreneurs…my ‘aha!’ moment was…well, in my case, there were a few ‘aha’s!’, and they beat me over the head with a sledgehammer. Things like Directors of International Marketing at major US labels claiming that Spotify was available in China, another label offering a dairy branded deal to a Vegan, Chinese artists who were signed to US labels never seeing a dime of their streaming royalties, and so much more…it became clear that both sides were missing something that no one saw an opportunity in.
Operating using his knowledge of working with Jessie J in the Chinese market, Spalter launched East Goes Global to build a bridge between eastern and western music markets, targeting streaming services like NetEase and QQ Music that have four times the number of users that Spotify and Apple Music do.
In just a year, East Goes Global has begun to reveal new paths into a previously uncharted market, guiding the likes of Carly Rae Jepsen, DJ Snake, Yungblud and Clairo to millions of new listeners. Because Spalter has experience in both markets, East Goes Global’s approach is natural, comprehensive and focused on breaking down cultural barriers using social media, playlist pitching, working directly with influencers and consulting, in addition to other methods. East Goes Global is well-equipped to operate in the Chinese market in part because they are aware of copyright laws and the state of the Chinese music industry as a result.
According to IFPL, music streaming services in China are slow to take off because “overall subscriber numbers remain low due largely to a combination of free licensed offerings and online piracy.” Despite this, IFPL insists that there is a strong case for optimism about the industry. In 2018, IFPL regional director for Asia Ang Kwee Tiang said that the value of the music industry grew in 2017 by 35.3% to $292.3m, with streaming revenue growing 26.5% to $204.5m. Though these numbers are still low compared to United States services like Spotify, it’s a significant increase when, less than a decade ago, piracy dominated people’s listening habits. According to Music Ally, “This is why piracy is no longer the main debate in the Chinese music industry. Ang showed a slide claiming that in 2010, 97.5% of online-music traffic in China was going to unlicensed and pirate sites, but that by 2017, 70% of traffic was to licensed audio and video sites.”
Entering the Chinese market as an American artist isn’t the only thing that East Goes Global can help with—Spalter and his team are experts in the American music industry as well and are more than capable of introducing Chinese artists to the American market. In 2017, the United States music industry made over seven billion dollars, according to an RIAA report. The report cites an 11.4 percent growth from the previous year, due in large part to the increase in on-demand streaming services. In the second quarter of 2019, Spotify had over 100 million paid users. With so many paid users and an industry worth more than 20 times what its Chinese counterpart is worth, the American music market contains untold potential for Chinese artists. East Goes Global is designed with artists on both sides of the globe in mind. With anti-piracy laws finally succeeding and legal, paid streaming services exploding, it’s only a matter of time before the demand for American artists grows in China and vice versa.
“There has never been a better time than now to begin focusing on the Chinese entertainment market. In music, China has moved up to the #10 largest music market in the entire world. Today, with the recent success of anti-piracy laws, the growth of revenue from streaming services, and the increased focus and role that social media plays in artists’ global success, the stage is perfectly set for global opportunity. With years of experience within both the Eastern and Western entertainment markets, East Goes Global has positioned itself to be the leader in the field of global development. From managing both Chinese and US social media platforms to assurance and collection of streaming royalties to sourcing branding and marketing opportunities for now more than 40 clients all working the Eastern market, East Goes Global is the premier team in developing your business on a truly global scale.“
Your next single release should be the biggest moment of your career to date. Whether or not that turns out to be the case is entirely up to you.
In the streaming era, singles matter as much — if not more — than albums. A single song can determine whether or not someone gives the rest of your music a chance, if they see you on tour, or if they ever think of you again. You have one chance to convert listeners, and most of the time that chance is the first thirty-seconds (or less) of any song you choose to promote.
With this in mind, it is very important that you treat each single release as if it is the biggest thing to ever happen. Your singles should be events that are promoted heavily and celebrated thoroughly. Everyone should know you have a new song, even if they don’t get around to streaming the track themselves.
Thanks to our pal Jesea Lee from High Road Publicity, we now have a seven-step guide to maximizing the value of a single release. Check it out:
Set a release date with enough lead time!
Most artists don’t have enough content to fill two months of promotion for a single song. Maybe you’re the exception, but generally speaking, four to six weeks is an ideal timeframe to promote new music. That allows you time to make sure everyone who cares about your career and many who don’t are made aware of your plans.
Create a Spotify pre-save campaign.
Streaming is king, so you might as well bow down and acknowledge the reign Spotify has over the music business. Pre-saves ensure people don’t forget your new music is released, and they only take a few minutes to create. SmartURL is a tool which allows you to create different geo-redirect links for music & more. It is completely free, although some features are restricted to registered users only (registration is free!). SmartURL has a tool called ‘Pivot’, which will allow you to put all of your URL links into one landing page, such as iTunes/ Google/Amazon/Spotify, etc, and your fans can then choose their favorite service and be redirected to it. If you’re looking to only set up a pre-save, there is a specific ‘Pre-Save’ tool. This is open to registered users. To set up a pre-save on Spotify you’ll need the URI of your release.
Other pre-save link generators exist. Find the service that best meets your needs and use it.
Update your Spotify profile.
When your new single comes out, and the world is finally paying attention, how will people know who you are and what you’re all about? Spotify profiles can feel sparse at first, but you can make the most of them by adding thoughtful bios, tour dates, and plenty of pictures for your fans to enjoy. If you have the budget, please consider hiring someone to help create a bio and other content for your page.
Submit for Official Spotify Playlist Consideration and Release Radar.
Playlists are the new mixtapes. Placement on popular playlists can turn unknown musicians into viral sensations overnight, sell tickets, and get people talking about your music. Spotify has a great tool for playlist submission that will get your song in front of curators who oversee some of the platform’s most popular playlists. Here’s how it works:
Log in or sign up to Spotify for Artists using a desktop computer.
On the ‘Home’ section, click ‘Get Started’ next to the music you’d like to submit.
If it’s an album or EP, choose one release to submit.
Complete the playlist submission form, giving as much information as possible about the track.
Reach Out to Press and Independent Playlists
You know what is louder than you screaming into the void known as internet about your new material? Dozens of people screaming into the void about your new material.
Haulix is used by thousands of artists to reach tastemakers in all corners of the world with fully-customizable promo pages that compliment the music being shared. You can sign up today for a one-month trial, upload your contacts, and immediately begin promoting your music to people in positions of influence throughout the industry.
If you need help finding independent playlist curators, try this post or this one.
Tease on socials.
Your creativity outside of writing and recording will likely determine how much traction your new single receives online, especially from people unfamiliar with your work. Create and share teaser clips, video clips, memes, song lyrics, behind the track information, and anything else you can think of to promote the song’s upcoming release. If you need help coming up with content ideas, especially if you have a limited budget, we recommend learning from artists like Heart Attack Man and Hot Mulligan. Both bands keep their names circulating throughout their music scene without needing to constantly release polished music videos or studio tracks. Just be yourself (in the most creative way possible).
Prepare your release day social posts
The last thing you want to happen on release day is to find yourself scrambling for content. At least five days in advance of your single release, take time to craft a series of social media posts that are unique to each of your channels. Know what you’re going to post to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as when you’re going to post it. That way, when the day comes, you can focus all your energy on engaging with listeners in real time.
