MusicTank to ask “Can Streaming Go Mainstream”?
18:30, 23rd February 2012, Central London
Speakers Include Beggars’ Simon Wheeler and Kudos’ Danny Ryan5th January, London:- MusicTank’s first think tank of 2012 will shed light on the streaming model of music consumption, the royalties it produces and its future in the wake of significant disquiet among parts of the recordings business.Streaming, which arguably represents the biggest shift in music consumption habits since the invention of wax cylinder, changes the ingrained music ownership model to a pay-for-access one that is little understood, and which many, especially artists, find unrewarding.The issue could not be more important – some argue that unless streaming is both understood and embraced, the recordings business will be thrashing around a fifth percentile of licensed consumption for many years to come. This think tank will drill to the heart of the issue, answering the two central questions – ‘how does the model work?’ And ‘how do the artists get paid?’Speakers include Beggars Group Director of Strategy Simon Wheeler and Kudos Records MD Danny Ryan.Ryan, who has been outspoken on the subject, founded Kudos Records in 1992 to provide distribution services to the emerging producer run electronica and house labels of the time, and the company now distributes for over 200 labels.Wheeler, who has worked with almost every significant entity in digital media, has been keeping the record breaking independent record company Beggars Group at the forefront of new technologies since 1990. Simon is chairman of AIM's New Media Committee, while Danny sits on the new media committees of both AIM and The BPI.Said Keith Harris, MusicTank Chairman "The whole industry is trying to make up its mind about streaming, with artists like Coldplay withholding their albums from initial streaming, to labels asking what it does to the download market, and of course artists wondering whether they will ever get anything approaching a reasonable royalty. “We hope that we can get to the heart of some of these questions, and help to move the debate on further."Event DetailsDate: 23rd February 2012Time: 18:30 to 21:00Venue: TBC – Central LondonCost: Standard – £35 / MT members – £25Tickets must be purchased in advance from here ------------------Full Event CopyThe Big Question: Can Streaming Go Mainstream?The recordings business begins 2012 at a make-or-break crossroads.Digital is growing, and in under a decade, the download business has emerged to constitute approximately a quarter of all UK music consumption – a considerable slice of the pie.Streaming is still a niche activity, but with Spotify already regularly used by about 10% of households, it is showing potential. The model is very much at a delicate point in its infancy however, which makes the growing disquiet that ‘streaming isn’t paying’ - fuelled by artists from Jon Hopkins to the Black Keys - all the more problematic.These artists are not on their own. Many across the business, from labels through to lawyers, question the industry’s approach to this new model. And the questions aren’t just about pennies per stream – some wonder whether streaming is cannibalising downloads. Several draw parallels with the business’ response to the original Napster, the implication being that ‘get this wrong and the recordings business is going to be thrashing around a fifth percentile of licensed consumption for years to come’.Many also feel that the services themselves could be more open. The streaming model alters our relationship with music from standard ownership to a pay-for-access model – realistically the biggest change in consumption of recorded music since its invention, yet, just when an extra effort to encourage understanding is needed, silence is fueling fear.In some ways it’s a testament to the success of the model that industry stakeholders care to voice their concerns, though in the end, if people in the value chain don’t see value then there is a problem.Ultimately there are two questions at the heart of the issue that this session aims to address:1. How does the model work?2. How do the artists get paid?The discussion is sure to raise many issues – from artist contracts, the potential erosion of performers’ equitable right of remuneration for radio play, also the question of chart eligibility – however this session will avoid getting immersed in the finer ramifications for the rest of the business at this stage.The immediate need is to understand what impact the biggest change in music consumption since the wax cylinder might have on the future of all in the recordings business - especially artists.About MusicTankUnique among the music business’ many and various interest bodies, MusicTank is the country’s leading, independent, sector-specific business development network for the UK music industry.Established in 2003 to inform and guide the future shape of the music business through engagement with industry, change and innovation, MusicTank has built an enviable reputation for its ongoing and unique programme of think tank debates, events, occasional courses and conferences, a natural progression from which has been the delivery of incisive reports commissioned from key industry figureheads.Its content-rich website - www.musictank.co.uk - contains a wealth of industry information and resources, together with event transcripts and podcasts, news and research papers. 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