Although the industry has become more complex yet innovative over the past decade, specifically from January, we have seen an increase and, coincidentally, the takeover of AI generated music, genre blending and the revival of physical formats of music consumption like vinyl records, who many believed were a thing of the past till the demand increase in the year of 2024.
There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s start at the most prominent trend of music tech this year, which is AI-generated music.
AI-Generated Music
This is arguably one of the most controversial areas in music over the past few years, which divides opinion amongst artists and creators alike. It is an incredibly tricky one due to the fact music has been historically always seen as an artform, but with the world’s tech becoming more advanced, do those who still condemn AI simply need to get with the times? Artificial intelligence is used in many aspects of music, including composition, production, performance, marketing, and consumption. In the United States, the current legal framework tends to apply traditional copyright laws to AI, despite its differences with the human creative process.
However, music outputs solely generated by AI are not granted copyright protection. Most AI music generators should produce results quickly. Your composition should be usually ready within seconds to several minutes depending on the complexity of your composition and tool capabilities.
Steps to creating music with AI:
- Choose a music generator, with some of the most notable being Soundful, Soundraw and Loudly.
- Input parameters may include the tempo, key, and genre, as well as any specific musical elements such as melodies or rhythms.
- Generate the music, usually instant, and then you can fine-tune your piece from here including editing the composition.
- Finally, export your piece, and at this stage, you can add instrumentals, and then look to upload your work to a platform to monetize this.
One of the biggest tracks that caught the world’s eye was Verknallt in einen Talahon by Butterbro. The song reached a whopping No.48 in Germany, a song about immigrants whose music, vocals and artwork were entirely generated using AI.
Read also: Controversial AI Track About Migrants Is Climbing German Top Charts
Genre Blending
2024 has also been the year of ‘Genre Blending’, which is the practice of combining elements from different genres to create a new sound. Whether it’s mixing electronic beats with jazz harmonies or combining punk energy with soulful melodies, genre-blending allows artists to step outside the traditional confines of genre. With this freedom to create art like the world has never seen before, it has led to some of the most exciting and innovative sounds we’ve heard in decades. In a sense, ‘Genre Blending’ sort of feels like a bit of a simple concept and leaves some with the question of what has taken so long to blend musical genres? But here’s why it's on the rise.
- Streaming platforms’ influence; Spotify and Apple Music offer so much for listeners to consume that they’ve almost broken down the barriers and created more open-mindedness around music.
- Cultural crossovers; With a world that has become more connected by technology, through media consumption, we create a place where artists can sample from different cultures and historic periods to include in their own art.
- Creative freedom; Technology itself is evolving, meaning artists can create their art virtually and digitally, leaving an opportunity to experiment with different genres anytime anywhere.
One of the most notable genre-blending hits of the year was ‘TEXAS HOLD’EM’ by the legend herself, Beyonce. The song debuted atop the Hot Country Songs chart making Beyoncé the first Black woman with a number-one country song in Billboard history. Rolling Stone also placed the song at no.192 on its ranking of the 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.
Another star also blending genres was Post Malone. His hit single “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks and secured the no.1 spot on Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart for 2024. Sonical.ly described his journey as “a lesson in the power of breaking the mold”.
The Revival of Vinyl
Over the past decade, we have seen the revival of vinyl record sales across the entire globe. Streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify may be leading the way in terms of recorded music consumption, but demand for vinyl records continues to surge, with the market at its highest annual level since 1990. To identify exactly why the rise in vinyl sales has occurred, it is essential to break this down into seven points. These include sound quality, collectability, design, nostalgia, support for artists, discovery and social aspect.
- Sound quality; Listening to a record on vinyl is often said to reflect the way artists intended their music to be heard, with the subtle imperfections in the audio.
- Collectability/nostalgia; It is a very simple factor; people love to reminisce about how they felt, where they were, or even who they were with when they hear a specific song, or even an album.
- Support for artists; Artists may also see more support and profit when vinyl purchasing increases.
- Social aspect; Leading on to the social aspect, people love listening to music together regardless of what format it’s in, but the art of sharing physical music with other people is only getting stronger.
Whatever way you consume music, it is impossible to hide from the revival of vinyl that has been highlighted in the industry, with Luminate claiming that vinyl sales are up 6.2 percent.
Superfans
Superfans have gone from plastering their bedrooms in posters to being die-hard fans. They are the most loyal listeners in the music industry, and they prize music as much as the artists themselves. From ticket sales and VIP experiences to music drops and merchandise, superfans spend more money on artists than the average listener. As Billboard puts it “They love artists, they've got money to burn, and they're the music industry's new obsession: Say hello to superfans.”
Superfans, by the numbers, are reshaping the music industry's revenue strategies. In July 2023, Goldman Sachs projected the addressable market opportunity for superfan monetisation at a whopping $4.2 billion, and in 2024, they upped that estimate to $4.5 billion. In previous eras, someone’s success was tied to how many units they sell. This metric defined who became a superstar and who flopped. Nowadays, the industry’s success stories are centred around streams, organic searches of the artists and the addition of these artists' songs to playlists across streaming platforms.
According to Spotify, superfans make up about 2% of artists’ monthly listeners. However, they account for 18% of the monthly streams. What’s more, those who continue to purchase physical formats are twice as likely to be music superfans.
