BIG DATA TRANSFORMING THE INDUSTRY

Big Data, The and Utopia Music May 2020 INTRODUCTION

BIG DATA – INFORMED DECISION MAKING ▪ Big data has become This paper presents a description Even in its most prosaic form, data increasingly prominent as of ‘big data’; it’s history and has long been a recognised and a mechanism to solve relevance today and how it can valued commodity. For example, inefficiency in a variety of be utilised to solve market military strategists throughout industries. inefficiency. A focus is provided history would rely on the data given on the inefficiency that exists in to them about the enemy, their own ▪ Information can be drawn the music industry. This exists forces and logistics to enable correct from data sets to promote where artists, producers and decision making in war. Whilst in prudent business rights owners of all music that is present day business, data, and the decisions. consumed across the globe, are information that can be derived not compensated fairly and from it, is absolutely crucial in ▪ The Music Industry faces efficiently for the music that is enabling appropriate and timely inefficiencies which can consumed. We then consider decision making and sound business be solved by effectively Utopia Music and how it intends practices; generally, the greater the utilising big data; more to solve such inefficiency quality or quantity of data available, than 50% of revenues go through the use of big data. the more informed the decision missing in the industry. making. There is a view that data is Finally, we extend our analysis of now the world’s most valuable ▪ Utopia Music is one such big data to further areas of the resource, surpassing even oil. Like entity achieving this music industry and other ways it oil, data can be distilled into a mission; deploying may be utilised. myriad of useful products, whilst big modern technologies to data facilitates informed decision ensure artists are paid making and analysis by fairly for how their music is systematically extracting consumed. information from sets of data that were, until recently, simply too large ▪ Prioritising technology is or too complex to be harnessed evident in the behaviour using traditional methods. of market leaders.

1 BIG DATA

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Figure 1: Order of Bytes Data can be defined as individual Big data, measured in megabytes, units of information, where such at the time could not fit in core information is collected together memory or even on local disks; by bit for reference or analysis. Data is way of context, current much assumed fact and can be smaller mainstream laptops and Byte considered as the basis of Chromebooks tend to have 1 (8 reasoning or calculation. It is terabyte (i.e. 1,000,000 megabytes) bits) important to first make the of data on their local drives. The distinction between ‘data’ and era of measuring big data in Kilobyte ‘information’. Although each is megabytes now seems a distant (1000 Bytes) often used interchangeably with memory! the other, data is transformed into information when it is viewed in The turn of the millennium Megabyte (1000 the context of the event or object confirmed the need to control an Kilobytes) which is being analysed. Therefore, ever-expanding dataflow. Peter we can use data to draw Lyman and Hal R Varian performed information about events or a study in which they discovered Gigabyte (1000 objects. that in 1999 the world had Megabytes) produced 1.5 exabytes of data – or By the mid-1990s, it had become approximately 250 megabytes of increasingly difficult to effectively data for every individual on the Terabyte manage data. It was clear that a planet (there are 1 million terabytes (1000 Gigabytes) technical solution was needed that in an exabyte). By 2002, just three could predict patterns in data years later, a further 5 exabytes of Petabyte without the need to understand new data had been produced. This (1000 Terabytes) the data – put more simply, a is still relatively small compared to machine was needed to sift our current levels of data through very large amounts of data production and management. In Exabyte and provide meaningful and 2015 IBM estimated that 2.5 million (1000 Petabytes) comprehensible summaries. terabytes of data were generated Rumours of ‘big data’ started to each day, compared to the 5 appear in literature around this million terabytes of data produced time, but as a problem, not as a in a whole year in 2002. tool. 2 BIG DATA

BIG DATA TODAY ▪ At present, ‘big data’ is a phrase used to describe There has been a profound shift in This shift into data analytics is also massive volumes of focus across a number of industries apparent in the music industry structured and in the last five years as more and where business inefficiency is unstructured data that is more companies understand the endemic and big data is utilised in a of such scale that it is importance of big data host of different ways. Some are difficult to process and management and how it can be taking advantage of data in a similar analyse using traditional utilised effectively. Netflix is faced way to Netflix and using it to database and software with a challenge of making each determine which music should be techniques. one of their 36 million customers marketed and where. Further to feel like the 3.14 petabytes of video this, managing big data effectively, ▪ Vagueness in its definition available is designed specifically for securely and not intrusively, even on is appropriate given the them. Not only in the applications the overwhelming scale of the diverse use of big data. It design but also in their production; global music industry, could solve can be used in any in 2010 Netflix analysed 30 million the problems of traceability and industry for any purpose, plays, 4 million ratings and 3 million accountability. And it would seem with the ultimate goal of searches of those who watched the that the industry has recognised the facilitating more informed original UK-aired ‘House of Cards’. need for big data management. decision making. An analysis was performed by Increasingly, music companies and tracking the viewing habits of its platforms are looking to make ▪ Its definition does not rely own subscribers. They found that acquisitions in the analytical and the solely on volume of data, these consumers also liked films pure technology arenas. Strategic but also in tandem with starred in by Kevin Spacey and movements are being made by the the technology that directed by David Fincher. As a market leaders in utilising big data manages the data. For result, they created ‘House of Cards’ to establish a competitive example, big data may be on Netflix, which for a time, was the advantage. petabytes of data points most successful series on the planet. on the watching habits of individuals on Netflix.

3 Table 1: A selection of music Industry BIG DATA data acquisitions

Announced Date Target Company Target Description Purchaser Company

US music analytics startup specialising in using algorithmic data to 15/10/2018 Asaii Apple Inc. spot up-and-coming artists before they hit the charts.

28/03/2018 Sodatone Track streaming, social, touring, chart, and playlist data.

11/12/2017 Shazam Entertainment Limited UK online media company developing mobile applications. Apple Inc.

French provider of a platform that aggregates online music Alven Capital Partners SA; 12/09/2017 Soundcharts SAS consumption data and enables users to track social networks, charts, Kima Ventures; playlists and airplay data. GFC Global Founders Capital GmbH

French company that offers high performance music research and 17/05/2017 Niland Technology S.A. recommendation engines.

US provider of blockchain solutions for connecting applications to 26/04/2017 Mediachain Labs Spotify Technology S.A. media. 20/01/2016 Soundwave Analytics Limited Irish music sharing app. Spotify Technology S.A.

24/06/2015 Seed Scientific US data innovation and advanced analytics firm. Spotify Technology S.A.

19/05/2015 Next Big Sound Tracks the popularity of songs online and on social media. Pandora UK company engaged in providing online analytics solutions to the 21/01/2015 Semetric Limited Apple Inc. music industry. 06/03/2014 The Echo Nest Corporation US company providing music intelligence solutions. Spotify Technology S.A.

Swedish company that provides an online service for users to find, 03/05/2013 Tunigo Spotify Technology S.A. create, and share new music and playlists.

BIG DATA TODAY In addition to the transactions Consolidation of companies in the Vast expansions in the quantity described in Table 1, in April music business has been happening for of data available has continued 2018 Spotify acquired Loudr, a some years now. The Orchard exponentially until the present US-based provider of scalable Enterprises Inc., a US-based company day but it is only recently that licensing solutions that allow engaged in offering music, video and we have found the means to sift content creators, aggregators film show distribution services acquired through vast amounts of data and digital music services to RoyaltyShare Inc. in March 2015. in a valuable and effective way. identify, track and pay royalties RoyaltyShare is a US-based company The definition of big data is to music publishers. A year engaged in providing Software-as-a- relative to the software that earlier, Spotify also acquired Service based revenue management previously was unable to Sonalytic Limited, a UK-based and reporting solutions to manage such volumes and maker of audio detection entertainment and media companies. velocities of data. This poses technology that identifies At the same time they acquired Korrect doubt in future management songs, mixed content and SW Limited, a UK company engaged in of big data; do we have the audio clips. developing and offering music royalty infrastructure to manage big software. data in the future as both the Through both these volume and velocity of data acquisitions Spotify hope to As shown in the table above, Apple has increases at an accelerated improve its music ecosystem acquired at least three companies that rate? One technology gaining and improve the listening use technology and data analytics in increasing popularity in experience for consumers but the music industry. Apart from the alleviating such doubts is they also hope to create a music industry, other big data Blockchain, which is addressed transparent and efficient music opportunities that it has invested in later in this paper. publishing industry for include; Dark Sky, the most accurate songwriters and rights holders. source of hyperlocal weather information, Voysis, an Ireland-based AI startup dealing with speech recognition and digital voice assistance, and finally Xnor.ai, whose technology runs deep learning models efficiently on edge devices such as phones, IoT devices, cameras, drones and embedded CPUs.

4 The Music Industry; Then and Now

In the early 1900s, the advent of mechanical music Having said this, throughout the 20th century, the production and recording created a series of new legal products with which consumers used to listen to complexities. The copyrighting of songs quickly music were tangible, and although a challenge, became an issue as recorded music hit the tracking royalties was a relatively easy phenomenon mainstream. The US Supreme Court declared that compared to the market today. copyright will only protect songs that can be read by the human eye, whilst Congress passed a law The 1920s brought radio, massed produced by the requiring that a royalty be paid to the publishers for Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The development each mechanically reproduced song. Although a legal of polyvinyl chloride, known as ‘PVC’ or ‘vinyl’, in 1943 requirement, the issue of copyright and royalties was briefly dented the popularity of radio but it was not then, and remains today, the single biggest until 1964 with the introduction of the cassette to the complexity in the music industry. mainstream music industry that the success of both radio and vinyl alike began to be affected.

Figure 2: Timeline of listening products A BRIEF HISTORY Royalties became an increasingly can be easily sent between 1877 contentious issue in the 1970s. US computers without compromising Edison Congress declared that sound quality. phonograph recordings were worthy of In May 1999 Napster, a peer-to-peer copyright and amended the 1909 sharing platform debuted, but only 1890 Copyright Statute. This was in two years later it shut down Jukebox response to both vinyl and tape following a number of lawsuits. bootlegging; consumers could buy blank tapes and record copies of 2003 marked the start of the 1920 music from the radio. Record streaming revolution, led by Radio companies began an industry-wide Apple’s launch of its online music campaign to curb home taping. store iTunes. Legal downloading quickly became big business. In its Efforts were once again hindered first year Apple realised close to 1943 with the introduction of the Sony $70m in legal internet sales and Vinyl Walkman in 1979. Because of its the revolution had begun. improved sound quality and Presently there exists over 30 music convenience, it was widely seen at streaming platforms (that we are 1964 the time as the device of choice for aware of), with YouTube having the Cassette the discerning consumer. 100% of highest number of users at 2 billion royalties could not be collected for in 2019. The number of paid music the proportionate quantity of streaming subscribers in the world 1 1982 music that was consumed. was 278 million as of April 2019. In CD Frustrations were furthered in 1982 recent years, music has become with the release of the first CD: Billy increasingly accessible for Joel’s 52nd Street. consumers, wherever they are in 2003 the world either through live iTunes The late 1980s brought with it a performances, radio, TV, internet or combustible phenomenon centred streaming services. The landscape on the invention of the Moving is now one of great complexity, and Picture Experts Group-1, Layer-3 collecting the relevant data for 2006 (MP3) in 1990. The MP3 artists to be paid appropriately has Spotify compressed digital audio files can become an enormous be compressed 12-fold to a size that challenge. 5

1statistics taken from www.statista.com ‘Number of music streaming subscribers worldwide’ The Music Industry; Then and Now

Figure 3: Streaming services by user

1% 0% There has been a clear shift in the way in which we 2% 2% 3% consume music to one of convenience. Even relatively recent platforms such as iTunes, where consumers would Youtube pay $0.99 per song, seem far in the past. Streaming 4% NetEase platforms enable consumers to listen to all and any music 7% on a subscription basis. Where previously a consumer SoundCloud would be billed for the purchase of a song, tracking 7% Spotify consumption on a streaming service is far more convoluted. A Spotify subscription costs $9.99 per month. iHeartRadio To listen to the same music on iTunes, one would have 58% Pandora only been able to listen to 10 songs in a month; equivalent 16% Gaana to approximately 30 minutes of listening a month. However, having said this, iTunes listeners would actually own the music instead of simply renting it. According to Anghami the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), consumers listened to 18 hours of music a week, or approximately 72 hours a month. THE MUSIC INDUSTRY TODAY

The music industry still faces A Performance Rights Organisation This includes playing music in the same complex challenges it (PRO) is an association, corporation or any and every public domain, has faced throughout its recent other entity that licenses the public such as a nightclub or a hotel development. Royalties must performance of non-dramatic musical lobby. 95% of all music played still be collected; however, work on behalf of the copyright publicly is licensed by Ascap inefficiency still exists. owners. These include: Ascap, BMI and and BMI. Sesac. Because of copyright, a license Presently in the music industry, is issued which allows separate entities the artist/performer will only to play an owner’s music, but for a fee. receive fees for ‘public’ or ‘live’ performances. Crucially to the GLOBAL MUSIC INDUSTRY REVENUES ($BN) modern artist, this also includes public platforms such as radio 28.0 and YouTube or a non- 26.0 interactive subscription-based 24.0 0.6 service such as Spotify or 22.0 0.7 0.9 Pandora. Producers are also 20.0 0.8 0.9 0.4 0.1 1.0 paid a percentage of the 18.0 1.0 0.2 1.2 2.0 0.2 1.3 royalties for public 16.0 2.7 0.3 1.3 2.4 performances by artists. 0.4 1.4 2.3 14.0 3.4 1.4 1.6 0.4 1.8 1.9 2.0 25.2 3.7 0.6 1.0 12.0 23.4 23.8 1.4 21.9 3.9 1.9 2.8 4.7 6.6 Clearly, the way in which artists 4.2 10.0 20.1 19.5 4.4 take their fees is highly 18.1 4.3 16.3 8.0 4.0 3.8 convoluted and they only take a 14.1 3.2 2.8 6.0 11.9 proportion of all potential fees, 10.4 4.0 8.9 8.2 so it is vital that the industry 7.6 6.7 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.2 recognises how these fees 2.0 should be paid, to whom, in 0.0 what capacity and in what 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 quantum. Physical Digital (excluding streaming) Streaming PROs

Figure 4: Global Music Industry Revenues

6

Figure 3 data taken from Musically.com ‘How many users do Spotify, Apple Music and other big music streaming services have?’ Figure 4 data taken from www.statista.com The Music Industry; Then and Now

▪ An estimated 50% of revenues are unclaimed.

▪ The music industry is currently worth approximately $50 billion.

▪ Artists only receive approximately 12% of music revenues.

▪ Collecting royalties for artists is crucial.

▪ Asymmetric information exists on how and where music is consumed.

By the end of 2018, according to Rolling Stone magazine, total music revenues worldwide reached new heights of approximately $43 billion a year, and approximately $50 billion the year after. The disparity between this amount and the amount shown in Figure 4 on the previous page, is due to black-box revenues collected by PROs. The definition of black box revenue is money that has been collected but not attributed to rights owners, artists or producers. MARKET INEFFICIENCY

To pay out music revenues, All these costs, and others, are The highlights of inefficiency result PROs must obtain accurate significant, but they are not the from, 1) problems in tracking information about where music real reason for market inefficiency copyright in the new age of music is consumed, by whom and in in the music industry. Uncollected consumption, 2) digital music is what quantity. Presently, the revenue is not part of black box easy and effective to copy, 3) the methods of capturing this revenue. Utopia Music estimate quantity of new music information are not data driven. that 50% of all music revenues go continuously released is enormous Platforms, such as Spotify, are missing altogether in the industry. due to streaming platforms and meant to disclose information new production technology, and about how music is consumed. This stems from uncollected 4) the amount of data that should Although some platforms do revenue, resulting from poor data be tracked is very large and needs provide this information, there on consumption habits. This is a lot of computing power. There is are many which do not disclose discussed in the section on Utopia a pressing need for an efficient accurate data, and others are Music. way to track this amount of data largely invisible or opaque to reliably. PROs. The estimated $50 billion figure includes streaming services, CD sales, radio plays, live Copyrights in the Music Industry: Music Consumed events and advertising. Of this Composition & Sound Recording figure, the artists who generate and/or perform the music only take approximately 12% or $6 billion. Songwriter Artists/Bands This huge ratio imbalance occurs Creating a song Recording a song as a result of many factors but particularly: the significant expenses involved in the production and distribution of Composition Copyright Sound Recording Copyright music; the high costs associated with running record labels; PRO costs; and the costs associated with the likes of streaming platforms and satellite radio. 7 Figure 5: Copyright Structure BLOCKCHAIN

Figure 5: Block composition

Hash

Previous hash

Data Blockchain has the capacity for storing vast amounts of data over a long period of time. It’s evolution led to new possibilities in managing big data securely, and for some industries has been the missing piece in advancing the industry to its next phase. A SOLUTION TO INEFFCIIENCY Figure 6: Blockchain composition Genesis Block Starting in 1991, Blockchain was The ‘hash’ of a block is its developed over the next 17 years by fingerprint, which identifies a block two individuals: Stuart Haber and and all of its contents. It is unique Scott Stornetta. Their goal was to to that block only. When a block is timestamp digital documents so created, its own fingerprint, the they could not be backdated or hash, is calculated simultaneously tampered with. Blockchain was through a series of mathematical first introduced to serve as the equations. When information in a public transaction ledger for the block is altered, the hash also cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. It hit the changes. A chain of blocks is mainstream in 2009 when the created in which the hash of the unknown Satoshi Nakamoto previous block is also stored in the released the Bitcoin whitepaper. new block. This is the premise behind the security of blockchain; Intuitively, Blockchain is a chain of changes will always be detected. blocks, where each block contains When a block is altered, the next information. The information is block is no longer valid as the hash very difficult to change once inside for the previous block will no longer a block, and must be approved by be correct. The only block not to all participants of the blockchain. contain the hash of the previous Each block has 3 components: the block is the first block in the chain – data stored within it, it’s ‘hash’ and which is known as the ‘Genesis the ‘hash’ of the previous block. block’. The data within a block depends on the type of blockchain. For Blockchain’s development has led example, Bitcoin blockchains to its use in a number of different contain information on the industries which handle big data. transaction – who pays who and One such industry is the music what amount. But the type of data business. can vary depending on the purpose . of the blockchain.

8 UTOPIA MUSIC

Utopia Music is an example of a company utilising blockchain in their mission to solve the market inefficiency that exists in the music industry. Utopia Music designed and owns its own exclusive platform to achieve its goal. Blockchain facilitates this and differentiates it from competitors also aiming to create greater efficiency in the Music Industry.

• Utopia Music is a INDUSTRY PIONEERS technology firm that Utopia Music estimates that only Utopia take 100 samplings per monitors global music 50% of attributable revenue is second per song and then consumption and claimed in the music industry. compare its uniqueness between copyright data in order Furthermore, it often can take up peaks in the song’s spectrum. For to solve the inefficiency to two years for artists to be paid example, one second of a song that the music what they are rightfully owed. may replicate the same second as industry faces in Given that total earned revenue in 100 other songs. They then add paying music rights the music industry by the end of another second and see which 2019 reached approximately $50 songs (from the original 100) have fairly. billion, there is potentially a further the same two seconds as this song; $50 billion in the industry. With there may now be 30 which are the • They have recognised artists owed 12%, this equates to same. This continues in single a solution to this approximately $6 billion. second bursts until they are certain inefficiency can be Utopia monitors social media the song has been correctly found using big data. platforms, public TV channels, identified and the fingerprint is streaming platforms such as matched. This process happens • They aim to capture Spotify and , and automatically via their recognition complete data on how approximately 128,000 radio platform. stations globally (even analogue music is consumed radio stations can be monitored By the beginning of 2019, Utopia globally so that those through analogue antennae in were collecting over 6.5 million owed music royalties each country). Data is collected on data points every day, that equals have the ability to where a song is played, by which to about 600 million data points obtain this information entity and at what date and time. per quarter. By the end of 2019, from Utopia and can Utopia even have the possibility to they had an estimated 3.2 billion then determine how track the length of consumption of data points on their platform. much they should be a copyright. A song can be paid. recognised through its own ‘fingerprint’ as well as its metadata. Essentially, every song has some unique characteristics and these can be identified by taking a sample spectrum during playback. 9 UTOPIA MUSIC

Table 2: Utopia Music’s competitors Competitor What they do Why they are different Kobalt Music Group is building an integrated range of While KMG focuses on the digital world, music services to empower creators. Utopia Music's music usage and social media tracking capabilities go well beyond. WARM monitors radio to help artists discover fans, to WARM tracks circa 25,000 radio stations taylor marketing campaigns and accelerate royalty globally while Utopia tracks close to 130,000. collection. Soundcharts is a music data tracking platform that Despite an initial similar offering, Soundcharts offers real-time airplay, playlist, charts and social media only tracks approximately 1,600 radio stations. monitoring. BMAT is a music monitoring and reporting company BMAT only tracks approximately 5,000 radio that tracks radio, TV, and venues globally and helps stations. clean metadata stemming from streaming services.

Figure 7: Utopia’s method Management of this vast data store The genre produced may even RADIO CHANNELS is not easy. Utopia have recognised be influenced as artists +6mn +10mn +128,000 +500mn SPOTIFY FACEBOOK RADIO STATIONS RADIO STREAMS blockchain as a convenient tool in understand exactly which of their Top List Entries Reactions Collection Collection managing big data, and have songs are listened to and in what integrated it into their platform by quantity. This may push them to using decades of expertise in decide what music to next technology and software. By using produce. blockchain, Utopia can securely

Collecting store data in a way that it cannot be In the case of promoter, Utopia Consumption Consumption Database Data Application - Potential for +100% in altered or tampered with. will enable them to see what Copyright Database revenues. Cutting payment time from 18 genre or artist are most popular months to 24 hours. Utopia have demonstrated how big in a certain area, and could Payment Rail Reducing the cost 30% or more. data can be used alternatively in the therefore book the appropriate music industry. By effectively artists as a result. recording data on exactly how and when music is consumed, there are These are only a few of the seemingly endless possibilities in benefits that Utopia and big data Providing real time extracting information to benefit can bring to the music industry. reporting & intelligence PROs, publishers & Right Owners consumers, producers and artists, It seems indisputable that they who can verifiably understand can remove market inefficiency. Utopia constantly generate where their music is consumed and This can be extended to a fingerprints for new songs in what quantity. number of different industries. simultaneously as they are released. For example, they manage to keep This information can provide any up with the 50,000 new songs artist with the ability to easily make released by Spotify every single day. informed decisions on where to The sheer volume of data is schedule their next tour in a country extraordinary. or area (they may have otherwise been unaware of) where their music is being consumed in high volumes.

10 THE FUTURE LANDSCAPE

COVID-19 ▪ By February, China had released a close contact The impact of the Coronavirus has If it becomes apparent that a detector app. Users are been unprecedented in it’s global person has contracted the virus, an alerted if they have been impact both socially and app could easily alert all those who near a person who has economically. The future global have come into close proximity been confirmed or landscape may change indefinitely with that individual to get tested suspected to have the as a result. and to isolate themselves. virus. Big data provides one of many solutions working collectively to Such drastic measures may be ▪ In April Russia deployed solve the global crisis, and this necessary, but raise issues around an app to track the seems evident in the response privacy. It seems wise that these movements of people in taken by governments and measures should be temporary Moscow whom have been industries as they look to employ and limited. diagnosed with location-tracking technology. coronavirus. Although big data clearly provides Countries across Europe are solutions to a variety of dilemmas ▪ European countries now creating their own coronavirus and inefficiencies facing the world, turn to their own apps to battle the spread of the those who take advantage of it governments to deploy illness, and now Europe’s data have a responsibility to use it with similar data handling protection watchdog is calling for a care and to protect the privacy and apps, but are faced with single Coronavirus app to be used best interests of the consumer. issues surrounding across the EU. New surveillance authoritarianism and based apps could aid to mitigate privacy. An example of this the spread of Coronavirus as is the UK Government’s countries aim to come out of ‘test, track and trace’ lockdown. Each individual’s programme. whereabouts may be tracked, and the distance between individuals ▪ Big data means big measured using Bluetooth. responsibility.

11 THE FUTURE LANDSCAPE

Conclusion ▪ A wide range of opportunities Big data has become increasingly It seems the future of the industry pose themselves when prominent as a mechanism in relies on total symmetry of utilising big data. solving inefficiency in a variety of information. Will big data allow us industries. It seems clear that the to draw absolute and unbiased ▪ If successful, Utopia will have music industry in particular is information for all those involved in provided access to a further grasping for a solution to the the production and consumption estimated $50 billion of extra structural inefficiencies inherent in of music? Perhaps total symmetry revenue for the music the current system, where an of information will cause industry. estimated 100% of its current deterioration in creativity in music revenues are lost. If Utopia are truly production as producers employ ▪ Those who do not take successful in making their solution big data to create music just as advantage of big data may be work, then the music industry will Netflix did in their creation of left behind. face an upheaval like never before. House of Cards. This raises a deeper Performers, songwriters, lyricists, question. Is human creativity ▪ The future of the music, and producers and music rights owners required in the creation of an art other industries, will be will know exactly how their music is form such as music, or, can shaped by big data. consumed – when, where, how and information drawn from big data by whom .... all over the world. And take its place? ▪ COVID-19 has caused a global they can then justifiably and with catastrophe for many certainty claim their share of the For the foreseeable future, economies. In a shifting missing revenue. At that point, symmetry of information, aided by world, where new possibilities many of the facilitators, perhaps big data, will be key in enabling are now considered, one of including PROs and other middle informed decision making and greater automation seems men, would no longer be needed. improving the quality of life for the likely. Utilising big data to Big data is becoming increasingly consumer. enable business decisions in important and the music industry all industries post the global is starting to utilise it to allow the pandemic, seems increasingly consumption of music to be more likely. transparent and efficient.

12 Aalto Capital May 2020

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