2) Live music revenues have continued to rise since 2010.  The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, for example, expanded from one weekend to two in order to satisfy the higher demand.  Meanwhile, recorded music sales continued to stall. 2012 was also the first year during which digital albums outsold other formats and channels including physical copies and distribution outlets.⁴ 

3) Streaming services faced some negative publicity last year yet they continue to accumulate more users and subscribers.  Reports detailing Spotify’s poor payouts to artists sparked conflict between copyright holders and the online tech sector.  Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Pandora turned to litigation in an attempt to lower intellectual property costs via the Internet Radio Fairness Act.  Rumors about a similar Internet radio service by Apple spread across the media outlets, sinking Pandora’s stock.

4) Crowdfunding emerged as a new fundraising method for small businesses and musicians.  Amanda Palmer set a precedent when she raised over $1 million in only one month using Kickstarter.  IndieGogo and PledgeMusic are also important crowdfunding websites for musicians.  As it currently stands, artists and businesses in the U.S. cannot trade equity for online donations.  That may change this year when the JOBS Act goes into effect and relaxes equity regulations for small businesses.

5) Venture capitalists and angel investors are increasingly present at music conferences such as MIDEM and South By Southwest.  A study by the National Venture Capital Association, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Thompson Reuters indicates that total financing across all sectors dropped 10% in 2012 while financing of music companies rose by 34%.  A separate international survey, quoted in Digital Music News, put Sonos at the top of the pack, raising $135 million.  Deezer and Spotify trailed closely behind.⁵

6) EMI Music was acquired by the Universal Music Group for almost $2 billion.  The sale represents a continuing consolidation among the major music companies.  Now, only Universal, Sony and Warner remain. The European Commission finalized the deal nearly one year after the acquisition was announced in November 2011.  The approval by the EC came with the stipulation that Universal would sell off one third of EMI’s assets.

7) The publishing sector continues to tap revenues and is taking better advantage of market inefficiencies and licensing holes. Technology helps and is increasing the market share of independent companies like Kobalt Music and Rights Flow, now under Google. The “Do It Yourself” model continues to gain traction here too, as control decentralizes and moves away from traditionally powerful entities.  In what could be a sign of the times, and a threat to the PROs, Sony/ATV/EMI Publishing withdrew its digital catalogue from ASCAP and BMI, recently preferring to negotiate market rates directly—and with good results, driving collections from Pandora up by as much as one-fourth.⁶