INDUSTRY: Music Streaming

The definition of streaming, says Lifewire.com, "is a way of delivering sound - including music - without requiring you to download files from the internet". 


Before streaming, many people downloaded audio files in formats such as MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG or FLAC. However, when streaming came about, people no longer needed to download music, but instead were able to listen to music almost immediately.  

Streaming differs from downloads in that no copy of the music is saved to your hard drive. If you want to hear the track again all you have to do is easily stream it again, although, some streaming services allow you to both stream and download tracks - e.g. Spotify lets you download tracks so that you can listen to them when you don't have internet, since Spotify usually only lets you stream music when you have internet. 

The way the streaming process works is that the audio file is delivered in small packets so that the data is buffered on your computer and played practically straight away. As long as there is a steady stream of packets delivered to your computer, you will hear the sound without any interruptions. 

You can get streaming music subscriptions for example with Spotify or Apple Music. They have become very popular. Apple Music, which is available on Windows PCs and Mac Computers is a music streaming service subscription with more than 40 million songs that you can stream to your computer. 

Source - https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-streaming-music-2438445

Examples of Streaming sites:
Spotify
Deezer
Pandora
Soundcloud
Apple Music
Amazon Prime Music
Google Play Music
Bandcamp

Music Streaming Revenues
I looked at the theguardian.com and found an article which discussed the surge in music streaming via digital services such as Spotify and Apple Music. 


"Platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify plus the revival of vinyl records are helping to make the fastest annual growth in music consumption since 1998. UK consumers have bought more than 135m albums in the last year across all formats (CDs, vinyl, digital downloads and streams from subscription services such as Spotify, Apple Music). That was a 9.5% increase from 2016, which is the biggest annual rise since 1998 when the charts were dominated by artists such as Massive Attack, All Saints and the Verve. For the first time, more than half of the total number of albums bought and listened to were streamed, according to the latest figures from the UK music industry trade body, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) based on data from the Official Charts Company".

I looked at billboard.com and found an article which described a bit about the music streaming revenue report for 2017: "US digital revenue grew 15 percent in 2017 from $5.65 billion to $6.5 billion. In 2016, there was a 53 percent increase in music streaming from $2.2 billion to $3.4 billion". 

I also found a report called Global Music Report 2017: Annual State of The Industry by IFPI and I found the image that you can see on the right and the image that you can see below. I also discovered from this report that “in 2016, the global recorded music market grew by 5.9%, the fastest rate of growth since IFPI began tracking the market in 1997. This was a second consecutive year of global growth for the industry. Streaming has been the clear driver of this growth, with revenues surging by 60.4%. With more than 100 million users of paid subscriptions globally, streaming has passed a crucial milestone. It makes up the majority of digital revenue, which, in turn, now accounts for 50% of total recorded music revenues”.

"Streaming is now established as the most prevalent and significant format in the modern music industry, fuelling growth in almost all major markets and starting to unlock the phenomenal potential within developing territories. Physical sales remain significant in certain countries and for certain artists, and the vinyl revival has been a headline grabber, but streaming is the growth driver that is revolutionising the business. By the end of 2016, IFPI estimates that the number of paid subscription accounts reached 97 million worldwide. With the rapid growth of family plans, where several members of the same household can share a family subscription, IFPI estimates that there were approximately 112 million users worldwide of these 97 million paid subscription accounts".

YouTube Red

YouTube has had a subscription option for a while (launched Oct 2015), but it seems there will soon be either 2 options or a renewed, rebranded option.

YouTube Red is its current $9.99/month option, offering:

• no ads
• video downloads
• exclusive content (which they're expanding)
• the ability to continue playing YouTube when switching to other apps