Major record company market share on Spotify fell again in 2022, as indie tracks flooded the service

The four ‘main’ record companies – in this case that means Universal Music, Music SonyAnd Warner musicplus independent collective Merlin – has accumulated 12% market share above Spotify in the past five years.

That metric comes to light in the new Spotify annual investor reportthat revealed that 75% Plays of tracks on its platform last year were delivered by the ‘big trio’ or a Merlin member.

Apparently, that means a quarter of music streaming on Spotify last year (25%) are distributed by companies that have unconnected with specialization or Merlin.

Said companies include things like TuneCore (and its parents, Trust), plus UnitedMasters and several other distribution platforms for independent (or ‘self-published’) artists.

(Important note of context: Merlin represents popular indie labels like Group of beggars, Music group Cinq[[[[PIAS], Mushroom and others, but it also represents indie distributor – include DistroKid. Merlin claims to represent about 15% of the global music market.)

Large market share plus Merlin of all streams on Spotify as high as eighty seven% in 2017, according to Spotify’s previous financial reports. You can see the gradual decline of this number since then below.

The decline in market share of the major record companies on Spotify has become an inevitability every year, when you consider the massive release volume that now hits streaming services every day (and the fact are large companies that can only issue a certain percentage of them).

Recent estimates suggest that more than 100,000 new tracks now uploaded to streaming services like Spotify every 24 hours.

The decline in play by professionals has a simultaneous impact on the share of revenue earned from their services – thanks to Spotify’s dominant ‘proportional’ royalty payment model and others apply.

Professionals are certainly not unaware of this trend and are keen to change its ongoing impact on their business.

Last year, Rob StringerPresident of Sony Music Corporation, speak clearly on the topic for its investors. He notes that Sony Music’s overall distribution market share (and by association, share of all majors) is being “diluted by default” due to the “large volume of tracks” released each year. days through DIY distribution companies.

Stringer discussed sonyits strategy to slow down this dilution trend. He said Sony is deliberately “casting our nets deeper” in an effort to prevent market share from shifting to independent distribution – that is, bringing a large amount of independent music into Sony’s system through activities directed towards independent distribution. to independence like Fruit garden And GREAT.

stringer say memorable about his distaste for the “flotsam and jetsam” dominating market share on streaming services – a clear reference to the low-quality “functional” music and the 31-second tracks designed designed to fool the proportional royalty model on Spotify and other services.

Stringer is not alone in that area.

Last month, Sir Lucian GraingeCEO and Chairman of Popular music group, notify its global employees that Universal has concluded that the current royalty model on services like Spotify does not provide fair value to high-level artists.

Grainge has made it clear that UMG is making the move to new royalty models on services like Spotify a matter of global priority.

He noted that UMG strongly opposes streaming services pushing customers towards ‘lower quality functional content’ which, he says, is ‘in some cases difficult to switch to’ music'”.

cereal specific castration playlists on streaming services filled with 31-second tracks of ‘functional music’ (i.e. music to relax/sleep/relax/focus) purposefully designed for brevity Note to enable streaming royalty payments as many times in a row as possible.

“This year, [UMG] will work with much-needed innovation to foster a healthier, more competitive music ecosystem, one in which great music, no matter where it comes from, is accessible. easily and clearly accessible for fans to discover and enjoy,” he wrote.Global Music Business