In the first 6 months of 2021, streaming services saw a total of 555.3 Billion streams; an increase from last year’s 511 Billion according to MRC Data. Of those 555.3 Billion streams, 33.6% of them were new releases, a decrease of 2.5% from 2020. MRC Data counts 1,250 premium streams as a sale, or 3,750 ad-supported streams as a sale. Of the 434.7 Million sales MRC Data equivalents given the number of streams, 288.6 Million of them were from catalogs. Catalogs are noted as songs or albums released more than 18 months from current day. 

Of albums and singles released so far this year, Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” was streamed a total of 2.315 Billion times, and Olivia Rodrigo’s smash hit single “Drivers License” saw a total of 460.2 Million streams. If the upward trend in streaming catalog releases over newer releases continues, catalog music could control 75% of the streaming market by the end of the decade. 

But why are catalogs earning more streams than new releases?

Considering that a release only needs to be 18 months old to qualify as ‘catalog music’, there are far more songs in the catalog than new releases. Several of the top 20 artists on Spotify including Ed Sheeran, David Guetta, Bruno Mars,13 Drake, Khalid, Post Malone, Marshmello, and Travis Scott have not released albums since the end of 2019 and so would be considered catalog. New releases also typically target younger audiences, possibly to the exclusion of older demographics.

Catalog music even goes viral. Fleetwood Mac’s 2004 Remaster of “Dreams” surged in popularity last Fall after a TikTok user’s video featuring the song went viral. “Dreams” currently has over 750 million streams on Spotify.

How to get your music on Spotify Playlists

There’s no doubt that 2020 was an awful year for the live music industry. To combat their losses and reignite interest in live shows, Live Nation is selling $20 concert tickets to nearly 1,000 shows in 40 amphitheaters across the country. The shows are a part of Live Nation’s “Back To Live” initiative announced July 22nd, 2021 to kickstart the return of concerts as we knew them before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2020, the company saw a decrease of $10.76 Billion in comparison to the total revenue in 2019. This loss would be even greater if not for concerts occurring prior to the March of 2020.

Tickets went on sale on July 28th at 12pm Eastern / 9am Pacific and are available for a limited time only. Thirty-six artists taking part in the sale, those being: 311, 3 Doors Down, Alanis Morrisette, Alice Cooper, Brad Paisley, Brett Eldridge, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Coheed and Cambria, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Jonas Brothers, Judas Priest, Kings of Leon, KISS, KORN, Lady A, Lil Baby, Lindsey Stirling, Luke Bryan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Maroon 5, Megadeath, NF, Pitbull, Primus, Rise Against, Rod Wave, Slipknot, The Black Crowes, The Doobie Brothers, Thomas Rhett, Trippie Redd, and Zac Brown Band. 

In a new report from TikTok, the popular video network announced that 75% of its users have found new music artists on their platform. As of October 2020, TikTok reports 732 Million monthly users, with news outlets believing that could be an underestimate. In comparison, YouTube has 2 Billion logged-in users every month, yet was found to have less watch time per user than TikTok in a May study conducted by analytics company App Annie. 

TikTok has had a total of 3 Billion downloads across Apple’s App Store and Google Play. In the platform’s new report, 63% of users said they’ve heard new music on the platform prior to listening on streaming apps or on the radio. In an even bigger win for the brand, 72 percent of TikTok’s users agree that they associate certain songs as “TikTok Songs.” One example of this is artist K Camp’s “Lottery”, otherwise known on TikTok for its “Renegade” dance challenge. There are 23.9 Million videos on the app using that song despite not having mainstream radio success.

TikTok’s Global Head of Music, Ole Oberham, has said that “TikTok is the home for music trends that permeate the culture, industry, and charts.” Considering the massive amount of traffic the app is able to generate, it’s no surprise that brands will want to work with the creators or musicians who are able to garner the most attention. Oberham also said “When brands embrace music and partner with artists on the platform, they will see a ‘far reaching halo-effect’ of cultural relevance and brand love.”

In 2020, TikTok reported that 70 artists who went viral on the platform subsequently signed to major music labels.

Read TikTok’s full blog post about their findings here.

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