Impact of Covid-19 on the music Industry

bianca | February 25, 2022 | 0 | Tech in Music

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the music industry, with all live concerts and performances being cancelled for a considerable time period, bringing the music business to a halt. COVID-19 hit the music business hard in March as streaming services plummeted and the live concert revenue stream was disrupted due to social distancing and lockdowns. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that the live performance industry has been affected, however, not all areas of the music industry have been affected. It’s undeniable that the pandemic has hit the music business hard, but some parts of the music business are seeing a recovery.

Physical sales fell by 33% at the start of Covid-19; however, the music industry saw a dramatic increase in the number of subscriptions opened by new users. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the live performance industry had been closed. Due to the six-month shutdown, the live performance industry lost over $10 billion in potential sponsorship revenue. Some venues and artists tried to find loopholes or get around the rules by hosting social spacing events, but the concert industry still lost more than $30 billion due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

By mid-March, the coronavirus pandemic had effectively put the multibillion-dollar concert industry on hold, affecting the rest of the music world. According to some reports, there was a significant decline in employment in the music sector in 2020, plus a massive drop in physical album sales.

The crisis is likely to accelerate major trends in the music industry, with the importance of streaming having grown from 9% to 47% of the industry’s total revenue in just six years. The general consensus is that the next couple of years will not be easy for many as streaming of all the music ever made is at your fingertips for $10 a month; while buying concert tickets is expensive, the music business might struggle for disposable income in the near future. The pandemic presents an opportunity for the industry to find ways to bring artists closer to fans without physically bringing them closer and new ways to generate excitement around music and ensure that the live concert experience remains, albeit in a different form.

It is critical to find mechanisms to support musicians and the music industry as they transition to digital transformation, explore new revenue and investment models, build resilience and inclusivity, and recover from the pandemic. Right now, we need to quantify the impact of the pandemic on the music industry, but we also need to work together to pave the way for the music industry and investment to promote fairer digitalization for all.

In addition to the above, countries that have been the most successful as music exporters globally are also requesting the government for additional support such as a pre-Covid insurance mechanism to ensure live performance coverage in the event of a forced coronavirus cancellation. This would provide support to industry supply chain companies and freelancers.

Now, let’s focus on the positive side. It has been noted that the way people listen to music is changing in light of the coronavirus, resulting in music finding a more connected and powerful social audience than ever through a more efficient music platform for artists.

Although the music industry had been struggling before, but the pandemic seems to have forced businesses to discover new ways to create and distribute music. This has led to innovative ideas such as music blockchain gaining more popularity.

In conclusion, although the music industry has been under a lot of pressure due to Covid-19 with many people losing their jobs, but with the development of the latest technology, hopefully, the world of music would become a more secure place for artists to promote their music and create a better experience for their fans.