The music industry is often viewed as one big industry, which it is, but it is made up of a subsect of industries. The different aspects of the music industry are intertwined and need each other to exist successfully and fully maximise the intellectual property of the artiste. The industries that make up the music industry can be divided into 4 (four).
1. Recording Industry – This industry deals with the sound recording of the artiste, the production/recording of their vocal performance, and promotion and distribution of the finished product (i.e. the music). The first thing people think of when the music industry is mentioned in the Record Labels. They are the most prominent players in the industry. Although there‘s the emergence of independent artists who are slowly but surely becoming competitors to the record labels, these independent artists set up business organisations to act as their record labels which they operate through. The Record Labels are massive stakeholders in the music industry and are the most popular organisations. Think of the likes of Warner, Sony etc. Despite the disruption caused by the internet and streaming, the record labels are still among the strongest players. They scout for artists, fund the recording process, promote the artiste and the record, distribute it, and handle the accounting of proceeds from the record.
2. Publishing Industry – Although quite a complicated and often misunderstood/ignored industry in the music industry, the publishing industry is an extremely important subsect of the music industry. They are the “record labels” of the underlying composition/musical work of a song. As we know, a song has two different copyrights –The Sound Recording and the Underlying Composition/actual musical work. The record label deals with the sound recording, as explained above, while the music publisher deals with the Underlying Composition. The publisher’s goal is to collect royalty payments accrued to the underlying composition rights of the artiste’s song, exploit and administer the rights. The players in this industry include the publishers and the PROs/CMOS (ASCAP, BMI, PRS, SAMRO, MCSNetc).
3. Live Industry – This industry deals with live performances, shows and events, touring etc. The major players are show promoters, booking agents, tour managers, and festival organisers,e.g. Afro Nation, Live Nation. This is the one industry that has not been affected by digitalisation (at least compared to the rest), as it is still mainly physical. Although this may change due to the rise of Virtual Reality and Covid–19, which saw many artists adapt and use social media platforms to perform for their fans for free or for a fee. Touring and live performance makes up a considerable portion of an artiste’s revenue, especially in Africa, where it is the cash cow and significant source of income in the industry.
4. Interactive Industry – This refers to industries outside the music industry that use and need music to function. Such industries, especially the creative industries, like film and video games, heavily rely on music, as it plays an integral role. Music is used because it is a tool that can control emotions and can establish the tone and mood. The interactive industry refers to industries that use music to interact with their audience/customer. The use of music in these industries are made possible through synchronisation. Video games such as Grand Theft Auto heavily relies on music, as they try to create a realistic feel to the game. Other games and movies now heavily rely on music, and as these increases, so does the revenue for the music increase. Although these are the major industries within the music industry, other industries also support the music industry. These industries include accounting, legal, tax, public relations, management etc.
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