Facts About The Modern Music Industry
The music industry is one of the largest and most successful industries of all time, reaching billions of passionate fans across the world. While it’s relatively young compared to some other business ventures, global music companies have come to dominate the media side of the entertainment world, offering the latest hot hits while raking in billions of dollars every year.
Given the complexity of the industry, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that the average listener might not be aware of. Here we will look at some of the most interesting facts about today’s music industry.
Artists Make A Small Share
Contrary to believe, when compared to how much a studio makes, artists tend to only make a small fraction of the overall profits that come in. It’s part of how the industry functions. For an up-and-coming artist to make it big, they need to sign up with a well-known studio, one that knows how to market a new artist to the masses.
At the same time, the artist will need to sign a contract promising that the lion’s share of the profits goes to the studio. It might not seem fair to most people, and in some cases, it can leave artists with very little in earnings, but it is also the nature of the business, and one the only ways of finding success in a market that’s so oversaturated.
Happy Birthday
When we think of the most profitable songs of all time, we probably imagine something done by Lady Gaga or even Gangnam Style. But the truth is that the most profitable song ever made is actually “Happy Birthday”. The song is currently owned by Warnell Chappell, who initially bought it for $15 million, and makes around $2 million every year.
This is because to make commercial use of a song means having to fork out $25,000. This also makes it the highest-earning song on record, with even top of the charts singles not coming close to how much Happy Birthday has pulled in over the years, offering the kind of money that is usually online seen by winners who played online slots with CAD at https://casinositescanada.net/cad/.
The Beatles Couldn’t Read Music
Widely considered to be one of the best bands of all time, and a big part of the reason that the music industry found the success that it did, many might be surprised to learn that all the members of The Beatles weren’t actually able to read music. This is especially impressive when we consider that the band released a total of 188 original songs over the course of their careers, meaning that they were able to create them all without being able to read music: a nod to their creative genius.
Vinyl Is Making A Comeback
Before there were tape decks or CDs, there was the vinyl, a technology that’s practically archaic compared to what we have today. Despite this, vinyl is making something of a comeback across the world. Sales for vinyl had dropped to an all-time low of $36 million, but by the time that 2019 had come around, sales from vinyl records had increased to $700 million.