Technology has had a significant impact on how we create, distribute, and consume art over the years. Music, for example, has progressed from strung cassette cassettes that will eventually become a child’s toy (if you’re like me) to being internationally accessible with a single tap.
One of the most significant consequences of technology on music has been the blurring of geographical borders that separate sounds from different cultures, allowing music to become truly worldwide.
There’s no denying that technology has facilitated big paradigm shifts in every business, rendering certain methods of doing things outdated and establishing another manner as the norm. However, in the current state of music, it’s difficult to see any advances that will upend the current model of music creation, distribution, and consumption.
However, after taking a closer look and speaking with some of the industry’s brightest, it appears that the next frontier in music technology is closer than we think.
Music is in a very exciting place right now
While Victor Okpala, Spotify’s West Africa Artist & Label Partnerships Manager, anticipate fantastic things coming to African music tech, he’s still excited about where things are right now. Okpala is also the founder of Nabsolute Media, a marketing and communication firm.
He began his conversation with Techpoint Africa by discussing monetisation, claiming that musicians can now legitimately live off their music.
“For example, we’re familiar with the process of bootlegging. In Nigeria, a large majority of those who listen to music do so by downloading it from free websites. It was something illegal that became normalized in some way. However, we are approaching a point when people recognize the worth of music and are willing to pay for it.
“In addition to the usual sources of income, such as live events and endorsements, music can generate revenue as a product.” The unauthorized manufacture, distribution, or sale of goods is known as bootlegging or piracy. For years, it has been a thorn in the flesh of Nigerian musicians. Every year, millions of dollars are lost as a result of piracy.
Adeyemi Adetunji, a lawyer who also serves as the Manager of Operations and Commercial Partnerships at Audiomack, is equally enthralled by African. When he was a DJ back in the day, he said he knew afrobeat would become a thing since he was playing the music to an international audience.
“All the way back in 2011, I’d play them Wande Coal, P-Square, and D’banj songs, and I just felt like the music was resonating with people, so I knew there was something there.”
Adetunji is particularly thrilled that Nigerian musicians are taking advantage of technological advances. From gaining a large following to interacting with people on a deeper level, there’s a lot to consider.
International collaborations and more international award nominations are currently a hot topic in music. Adetunji smiles with delight as he describes how international collaborations, which just began in 2010, are now becoming the norm.
“All the new school kids, the Fireboys, the Remas, and the Omah Lays, are doing that a lot now.” That’s a significant deal to them.”
Considering the future
The next frontier for music, according to Okpala, is that it will be considered more as a product. He claims it is currently viewed purely as a form of art that does not attract enough funding. Finally, he feels the music industry is deserving of the same level of investment as, say, fintech or health tech.
According to research issued on November 17, 2020, by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), music sustains two million employment and contributes €81.9 billion ($91.69 billion) to the European economy yearly.
Music contributes considerably more to the economy in the United States. According to research released in 2021 by the Recording Industry Association of America, music generates $170 billion in yearly GDP and supports 2.5 million employment in the United States.
This is made feasible by the industry’s strong investments. In 2015, record labels in the United States invested more than $4.5 billion in the business.
While Nigeria does not have such high levels of investment, the health of the music business suggests that more investment could benefit the economy. According to Statista, the film and music recording industries contributed $1.8 billion to Nigeria’s GDP.
The music industry brought approximately $40 million in revenue in 2021. In 2022, this figure is expected to rise to $44 million. Surprisingly, there are already data points that can be utilized to forecast musical investment. As Okpala points out, more investments will be aided because there is adequate data for investors to bet on.
“As an investor, if you’re considering investing in an artiste with, say, 10,000 monthly listeners and 1 million monthly Spotify plays, you can estimate his monthly earnings to be $5,000. So, if you decide to spend $5,000 on branding, marketing, and expanding your reach with the purpose of increasing your audience, you can estimate how much money you’ll make.”
He goes on to say that the days of investors betting just on talent are long gone, as talent is never enough.
“When it comes to an artist’s success, there are a number of factors that come into play, including the name, branding, story, and, of course, substance.”
The metaverse, blockchain, and music
While Adetunji feels that no one knows what will happen tomorrow and avoids making predictions about the future, he does suggest that Web3 and blockchain may play a significant part in the future of music. The music industry is already being disrupted by blockchain developments such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
While Okpala acknowledges that new technologies will have a significant impact on music, he believes the future is still a long way off. Streaming, on the other hand, isn’t going away anytime soon and is only going to improve. Not only is it the current frontier, but it will almost certainly remain so in the future. Streaming music’s convenience is presumably why it’s now playing such a large role in music’s rise.
Since 2015, global streaming revenues have increased by 42 percent, outpacing the recording industry’s growth of only 9 percent in the same period. Adetunji and Okpala are hopeful about the future of African and Nigerian music, believing that the next frontier will undoubtedly be determined by technology.
