Music monitoring and reporting experts mark trends in music usage by radios, TVs and music fans online.

Music consumption and usage has shifted since the COVID-19 crisis began over two months ago. BMAT, the Barcelona-based music monitoring and reporting service, have been listening to the trends and closely monitoring how this unprecedented time may have affected our music patterns. The results of their analysis appear in their just-launched report What the FAQ is going on with music right now?

“Consumers and radio programmers alike have been turning to older tracks and deeper catalog, as opposed to new hits,” says Kelly Abel of BMAT. For example, the study found that the number of pre-2010 songs charting in the UK doubled, reaching 8.7% of all songs on the charts. Spain and Italy showed signs of increased nostalgia, and in Spain, inspiring older anthems like the song “Resistiré” dominated radio listening.

Radio broadcasters show less of a shift than digital when it comes to genre, though Hip Hop loses some share, while R&B sees slight gains.“What we do see is that we humans adapt quickly to unprecedented moments of difficulty. It’s clear that we look to music to get the emotional comfort we need – whether that’s finding strength in anthems, reviving old familiar hits or listening to soothing music.” Kelly explains. Despite expectations, speech content for some analysed regions only ticked slightly upward – 0.35% – versus music on the radio, perhaps a mild reflection of the increase in urgent news coverage the pandemic has been demanding.

“We’ve tried to capture the nuances and focus on some markets like Spain and Norway that have faced significant changes but haven’t been covered as widely yet in the global media.” says Kelly. The impact of the coronavirus and quarantine on media and music has been dramatic in some niches – sports broadcasting, for example – yet barely noticeable in others.

The spread of different catalogues of music is showing early signs of evolution. “There’s a new balance between commercial, production, and commissioned music emerging on TV,” explains Kelly. Traditional advertising music has fallen by up to 50% in some regions, and though advertisement seconds overall dipped only slightly, more local and regionally focused broadcasters appear the most vulnerable to slipping ad revenues.

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About BMAT

BMAT is a music innovation company with a mission to index all music usage and ownership data. They monitor and report music globally across TVs, radios, venues and digital to help artists get paid for their plays.

Livestreaming has soared. Artists and managers are on the look-out for innovative ways to fill the gap left by real-life live performances in an age of social distancing and strict public health measures. This includes keeping up fan engagement, ensuring the equipment and technical resources are available to put on a high-quality show, and being able to generate new revenue streams that could compensate for the cancellation of their shows.

Different platforms vary in what they offer in terms of interactivity, monetisation and quality, but no matter where they stream, artists face the same questions. A lot of them have to do with licences and revenues, two key aspects that challenge the music industry every time it embraces a new technology, service or business model.

In some ways, live streams are a lot like any other piece of content uploaded to social or video platforms. For example, as we monitor live streams at BMAT, we often see content being blocked or partially muted in the section where copyrighted tracks are identified in a live stream and post-stream upload. The copyright protection algorithms of the platforms, which use audio fingerprinting to find and flag content, are kicking in – the same way they do when a user uploads content with someone’s track in it. This system is in place for when masters or sound recordings are being streamed.

LIVE STREAMS, AS LIVE PERFORMANCES, ARE SUBJECT TO ROYALTIES

But that’s only half of the equation: For tracks in a live stream to be properly cleared, publishing rights for the musical compositions also need to be taken into account. That requires knowledge of content ownership and licensing entities on top of just audio fingerprinting. Here’s where livestreaming licences get really complicated.

To better understand what livestreaming entails from a licensing perspective, it’s worth noting the similarities to real-life concerts and general performances in clubs. Both licenses cover the performances of any music in public spaces or concerts by the local collecting societies. When artists play concerts with their own repertoire only, there are certain cases where big acts have licensed this directly with publishers and tour agencies. This means artists should feel fairly confident they can stream a performance of their own work, if they own both sides of it (masters and composition). This may be helpful as you plan your setlist for your next virtual show.

Just as with licences, there are revenue streams in place for more established types of performance spaces and events. For online streaming, the revenue picture looks very different. It’s a large colour palette, with some brighter than others.

The vast majority of platforms creators are using these days could help by having a straightforward way to enable direct monetisation of their performance. Donation-based models, virtual tickets or paywalls, sponcon, gifts or tips and other digital odds and ends don’t add up to a clear path for estimating potential return on an artist’s live stream. They vary by platform – as do the revenue share and other fees behind them – and they are more complex to predict and calculate than butts-in-seats formulas. These monetisation approaches are changing quickly, as platforms roll out new products and features at a prestissimo tempo.

THE COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ALGORITHMS ARE KICKING IN, THE SAME WAY THEY DO WHEN A USER UPLOADS CONTENT WITH SOMEONE’S TRACK IN IT

Along with how much live streams might make, it’s also not fully clear whether platforms’ existing licensing agreements and music-usage data processes are allowing royalties and data to flow to the right hands. These data ensure creators also get compensated for the royalties that are generated as a consequence of these live streams, which as live performances, are subject to royalties. To be fair to all music creators, this information loop needs to flow accurately and be closed as quickly as possible.

Online live music streaming emerged suddenly as a quick solution to fill the void that comes from social distancing in the physical world and as an alternative to the shutdown of bars, clubs, concerts and festivals. It’s like one big experiment, and as with all experiments, there are plenty of unknowns. It’s still unknown how many of these attempts to reach audiences and keep the music playing will evolve to suit artists and promoters. We also still wonder what the licensing schemas that need to be in place may bring in terms of possibilities and limitations.

What is for certain is that the boom in live streaming will have an impact and is changing the future of live music. Many of the initiatives we are seeing today, the ones that work from an artistic and business perspective, will be here to stay. At BMAT, we are already collecting, analysing and reporting as much data as we can in order to help anyone who needs it in the coming future.

Jakue López is vice-president of digital at BMAT, a music innovation company with a mission to index all music usage and ownership data. BMAT monitors and reports music globally across TVs, radios, venues and digital to help artists get paid for their plays.

The initiative calls on all broadcasters who play or use music to opt for the songs of those who’ve been cancelled. Every play will help them make up for financial and promotional losses.

Thousands of live shows have been cancelled in Barcelona, as they have worldwide. BMAT are calling on broadcasters from all over, including those they’ve worked closely with over their 16 years, to help support artists—local and international—and make sure the show goes on. By joining forces, they’re helping those artists who are most impacted by COVID-19 gig cancellations to make up for their losses with boosted royalty earnings and exposure.

Amid this uncertain time, the global music monitoring and reporting company BMAT are launching The Show Must Go On Air to encourage broadcasters to play artists who’ve had gigs cancelled in their hometown of Barcelona due to COVID-19. Especially those who aren’t usually played on the radio. Each play generates royalties to help compensate for their financial losses, as well as helping with visibility and gaining new audiences.

They’re giving priority to bands who aren’t usually played on the radio, and could be the most impacted by this. BMAT has the list of artists on their web page theshowmustgoonair.com Broadcasters can get ideas for songs to add to their programming, and artists who would like to be added can do so here.

“Our hometown, Barcelona, is big on music, so it means a lot to us. We want to keep it alive. We’re trying to help musicians who’ve had gigs cancelled here—especially those who aren’t usually heard on the radio.” explains Kelly Abel, Communications Manager of BMAT. “So we’re asking radios, TVs and any music lovers to play them. Every play will help generate royalties to make up for their losses due to cancelled gigs.”

About BMAT

BMAT is a music innovation company with a mission to index all music usage and ownership data. They monitor and report music globally across TVs, radios, venues and digital to help artists get paid for their plays.

Links

www.theshowmustgoonair.com

www.bmat.com

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to disturb the world economy, emerging music artists are among the most financially affected. With tours being canceled so that ticket sales are no longer bringing in revenue and with both labels and independent artists feeling the pressure to push back album release dates in a tanking market, musicians everywhere are feeling their livelihoods threatened.

In response to this crisis, BMAT, the music innovators with a mission to index all music usage and ownership data, have just announced the global rollout of an educational initiative aimed to help independent artists prepare for the tough times ahead and maximize earnings while remaining safe and maintaining the call for social distancing. “Get your hit together” is a 4-episode web series by the music-loving folks at BMAT, which aims to help artists get paid for every play.

BMAT’s team is passionate about music, and many are musicians themselves. They know that, as rights holders of entertainment assets in a fast-paced and infinitely interconnected digital world, music creators face a daunting challenge in tracking monetizable third-party use of their work. So, BMAT is helping those who create music to maximize their earnings—and the key to doing this is getting your music properly organized, or as they put it, getting your sh*t together.

Each episode will include a video with a BMAT  speaker giving a short summary of tips, accompanied by a click-through downloadable pdf guide to help artists use this challenging time to organize their repertoires. Topics covered in the series will include top ways to organize audio files in one place, best methods for confidently curating metadata, how to properly register songs and creative assets, and how to track those assets across the global landscape of the digital-age music industry so musicians can get paid for every play. 

“We do what we do because we love music,” say BMAT. “So we’re helping those who create it to maximize their earnings and make sure they get the recognition they deserve. The key to keeping your royalty income flowing is staying organized..”
 

Follow BMAT’s social channels to catch each episode of “Get your hit together” over the next week and download the artist pack for free.

This year, World Radio Day is dedicated to diversity — diversity behind the mic and in the newsroom, diversity in the airwaves’ music and ideas. This focus comes at just the right time. Radio and radio-like audio are poised for growth, so long as they can woo younger listeners by reaching them where they are, via digital products like streams and podcasts.

Radio knows how to create value for listeners and sponsors. Radio is great for discovery, as trusted voices introduce us to new sounds, new artists and new thoughts on cultural or political developments.

New digital platforms and media are inspired by radio’s time-tested formats. Efforts on the part of streaming services to grow their user base, for example, draw on radio’s ideas, linking music, engaging talk, friendly conversation and other elements into personalized radio-like channels. 

PODCASTING
The podcast boom shows that the human element outweighs the algorithm in creating this value for listeners. The majority of broadcasters see podcasting as a good opportunity, one way or another.

We at BMAT see this as one of the largest global monitors of broadcasting for reporting purposes, carrying out 24/7 tracking of around 8,000 channels across 134 countries.

Podcasts offer potential listeners a chance to catch a beloved on-air personality whenever convenient for the listener. Podcasting lets broadcasters expand their offerings, curate experiences for specific audience segments and, importantly, experiment with new sounds, approaches and perspectives. Podcasts are a great springboard for diversity, allowing new voices to find and build an audience. 

We need to nurture these new voices in order to keep radio’s audiences youthful. For music radio in Spain, where BMAT is based, the average age of listeners is 40, which means there aren’t a lot of teens tuning in. Especially in first-world countries where there are so many other options, Gen Z and millennials are elsewhere. They’re still tuning in, still listening, but not as much. Broadcasters need to think about how to engage with these audiences. This doesn’t mean we should abandon terrestrial broadcasts, but instead, we could let new formats cross-pollinate with tried-and-true approaches. 

We need to nurture these new voices in order to keep radio’s audiences youthful.

These approaches endure and can flourish in the future, I believe, because they involve real human connection. Radio is the most widespread medium on the planet, and worldwide, its penetration is still higher than the internet. For many listeners, radio is still the best, if not the only, way depending on their location, to hear new sounds or catch up on news or important issues. 

For me and for billions of other people out there, there’s this feeling when you turn on the radio. You find your favorite station, and you come to trust the person’s taste you’re listening to. It’s a relationship between you and the presenter, a relationship that means something in this era of on-demand audio content. It’s a relationship that’s still going strong.

Jose Torrabadella is VP of broadcast at Barcelona-based BMAT. He works with the monitoring and reporting of song information, duration, audience and context for broadcasts on TV and radio channels across 134 countries.