This is just another signal that the music industry needs to be continually shaken up (and down!)  According to a recent report by Citigroup, musicians are receiving a paltry 12% of the revenues that their music has generated.  Only 12%??  My first thought, as is probably yours, is WTF?  Aren’t we the ones creating the product?  This sounds like a bad shark tank licensing deal a la Mr. Wonderful.  Yet, according to the report this figure is actually up from only 7% in the year 2000.  So I guess we’re making progress…

Other notable points in the report:

• The two areas with the most rapid revenue growth are concert tickets and royalty payments (helped by newer formats of internet radio like Pandora, Spotify, etc.)
• The above revenue increases are a product of increased smartphone usage, giving listeners the ability to stream music on the go.
• The most common revenue absorbers (aka “middlemen”) include: Management, Record labels, Publishers, Streaming services and Radio stations.
• The average live concert ticket price is $100; the most concert revenue went to artists with a large swath of dates versus the megalithic tours from bands of the Boomer generation.

In summary, Citigroup says that while the rise of the internet (and the decline in physical music sales) initially caused artist revenue to stagnate, the increase in subscription services is causing artist revenue to grow again.  Touring remains a large share of artists’ revenue, and is helping to increase artists’ overall revenue share.  These trends bode well for all artists, whether they are well known or just emerging.  Citigroup also suggests that non-traditional distribution platforms (like Spotify) will eventually enter the concert business.

My take is that we still have a long way to go to get the credit we deserve as content creators.  However, the newer trends look promising and perhaps give a head nod to the fact that the music industry is slowly changing for the better.  Ideally, I’d like to see our revenue percentages around 30-35%, if not higher.  I think we can accomplish this by better controlling access to our products, vis a vis live music streaming, archived (previously recorded) live material and block-chain styled payment services of the future.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we all could be sharks?