It is true to say that the ability to get your music heard around the world in 2020 is better than any other time in history – whether it is on digital and online radio; blogs and websites; streaming services or in print, you can introduce your music to an audience in any corner of the globe in a fraction of the time it used to take for the NME or Melody Maker to print its next issue. However, latest industry analysis show very clearly that some things never change, such as the vital importance of an artist’s local market.
According to Vivendi’s annual report for 2019, local artists (i.e. artists from a certain territory, selling being streamed in that territory) accounted for 61% of Universal Music Group’s revenues last year. This is consistent with 2018’s figures and a slight rise even going back to 2016, showing that although audiences are open to new music of all kinds, wherever it originates, the fact remains that music fans will always look to support artists from locality, whether that be nationally, regionally or locally.
Universal signed artists in nearly 60 countries and featured tracks recorded in 44 languages, demonstrating the thirst for new music around the world, as well as the desire to cater for cultural, linguistic and artistic sensibilities. Over the last few weeks, the industry has seen Spinnup open in Japan; distributor Ingrooves launch in Turkey; Def Jam open offices in South East Asia, as well are industry developments in China, India and Africa, not to mention Spotify launching in Russia.
At Quite Great, the artists we work with reflect this: from classical composer Mustafa Khetty (Sri Lanka); psychedelic indie artist Lailien (Canada); blues rock trio Steady Rollin’ (El Salvador) and the country rock of Merv Pinny (New Zealand), to name but four. All have tremendous international appeal but it is so important that their local markets also cover these artists, building the strong foundations of their fanbase, involving local venues at a time when they also need support more than ever before and allowing the supporters of music to help spread the word organically.
Support your local music scene at all levels and the rest becomes so much easier to build.
Statistics and reporting courtesy of Music Business Worldwide
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- Mustafa Khetty
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- Steady Rollin’
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- Merv Pinny
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- Lailien
skype – quitegr8