Music Inc. Recap: Majority Revenue For Music Rights Will Be From Micro Payments In Future: Lloyd Mathias

At the first edition of Music Inc., a high-powered two-day event presented by MTV and curated by Loudest.in and exchange4media, Lloyd Mathias, a well known marketer and  former A-PAC marketing head of HP, presented an interesting talk on the rampant change in the music industry and opportunities that lie ahead. “Two thirds of what we consume today was not invented 25 years ago,” he began by saying. Throwing light on the ever-changing face of technology, he asked, “We had vinyl, then cassettes, CDs, followed by digital downloads and now streaming. What’s next?” He also talked about how the reach of internet and low cost data transformed the music industry from music creation and recording to distribution and monetisation. “In this rising digital economy music has survived wave after wave of disruption.” The latest wave is artists propelling their own career outside of traditional label environments and with the help of new technology people are making albums on their PCs. With that Mathias posed few important question. “Is adaptation or disruption the secret to longevity? Does this uncertainty present an opportunity to carve out new and profitable models?” When it comes the scenario of Indian music in India (which is currently the second-largest smartphone market with over 300 million smartphone users) mobiles are bringing over six million people in India onto streaming services every month. But the rampant piracy is a constant threat to the industry with ‘over half of internet users accessing unlicensed services.’ Mathias also mentioned how ownership is old news now. Monetisation comes from the social aspect of the music. It's possible when fans share the music or add it to playlists or utilize it to make videos. The new opportunities also come through live events, experiential marketing and partnership with consumer brands. Monetisation is also possible when the track is used in films, TV shows commercials and video games. The marketing expert also mentioned that today monetizing music is no longer about convincing fans to purchase, a sharp contrast to when it was all about CD sales and publishing royalties a decade ago. Mathias explained, “The outcome of a shift from a sales model to an access model is that you don’t get paid once anymore, you get paid forever. It’s MaaS – Music as a service” Mathias predicted that in future a majority of revenues for music rights will be from micro payments. For brands, music is a universal language and has a huge passion point. Music collaborations help brands strike a chord with fans. “The emotional connection that music brings can be faster and stronger than most other techniques at a brand's disposal.” Such is the power of music especially among youngsters that HP even launched a streaming service to encourage millenials to buy laptops. Mathias mentioned how the company partnered with UMG to make HP PCs the preferred choice among millenials. The campaign was tailored to win young consumers’ hearts. Called HP Lounge, this music streaming service comes in-built with each HP laptop. Placing music at the forefront of its brand offering helped HP stand apart from other PC makers in what is a cluttered space today. News Courtesy https://www.exchange4media.com/