Hanging fruit for music artistes
As we all know, for many people making music is not a hobby, it is a business and in most cases it should adopt that form.
ON A global scale, this market has upgraded itself from a physical base to take a more digital form nowadays and it doesn’t seem to be shifting from that trend any time soon.
The thought to employ the use of online music stores has proved to be contagious among artistes and it has been nothing short of beneficial for the industry, and it has reshaped how people experience their music. Like everything else in the world the music industry is adopting a technical edge and here is why.
I’m sure we can all agree that the structure of the music market is continuously changing — in some cases for the better. Globally, 50 percent of the recorded music markets’ revenue is attained through digital sales (courtesy of the IFPI). That includes, music sold from online stores, sites as well as music streaming.
Clearly, one can see how the market has shifted from the sale of traditional formats such as CDs and Vinyl to more portable, digital formats. In fact, the IFPI has revealed that the physical format revenues have gone down by 7,6 percent last year alone and only account for 34 percent of the recorded music market revenue.
At this point, the next big question as a music artiste would be: “With everything going on, what is the next step?”
Well you would be pleased to note that, with your music, you can exploit some of the benefits that other artistes are enjoying all over the world. Zimbabwe is also in on the action as we have our own online music store that celebrates the love of homegrown music — OyOsMusic.
It is the product of 14-time ICT award-winning company Zimhosts and has managed to rack up a playlist of over 6 000 songs from over a hundred local artistes.
The great thing about online music stores such as OyOsMusic is that putting up your music online is free. Artistes aren’t charged for getting their music online and in this respective case, they receive quarterly royalty payments for the purchase of their music.
This method has proved effective in Zimbabwe as OyOsMusic has doled out the first quarterly payouts for our artistes just last week. Their music is also given a wider platform for listeners to find. Upon upload, their music is made available all over the world and everyone can preview a sample of the desired track with just a click.
But why is it that most artistes are migrating from the physical format and taking it online? Quite simply, online trade is a piracy-fighting agent. Every second that ticks while the pirates are out on the streets, the music industry slumps a little bit.
Unlike our everyday vegetable “merchants” on our streets, pirates sell music, an original product, and it kills its ability to reel in profits for the artiste.
Thus, when music CDs are strewn out on the street like spring tomatoes the biggest loser is the artiste as his/her music no longer reels in the profits like it is supposed to.
Unfortunately, music piracy is not just local spectacle but is prevalent all over the world. It is relieving to note that at least out there, there are still people that buy into the rite of buying music.
Overall, online music stores have helped rekindle the culture of purchasing music and give back what is rightfully the artistes’.
Now that we’re all caught up with how the market is transitioning, it might not be such a bad idea to either try and get in on the trend or introduce yourself to the world of online stores. Why? Because supplier or user, you both have something to get out of this. ◆ ZIMHOST Webdesigners, 1st Floor, Angwa Hse, Cnr Angwa/ G. Silundika, 0771 111 222, 04 796528, info@ site.co.zw, www.zimhosts.com