DiMA December Playlist Newsletter 2023
1. Spotlight: A Note from DiMA President & CEO Graham Davies
With the year drawing to an end, I am reflecting on my first weeks as DiMA’s President and CEO, and thinking ahead to building on the successes of music streaming in the year to come. Music streaming continues to revitalize the music industry, driving growth in industry revenues, but also constantly innovating to improve consumer, rightsholder, and creator experiences. As we look to 2024, I am eager to continue work with the broader music community, to advocate for policies that encourage innovation and growth, and to ensure fans can continue to legally access music anytime, anywhere, that they choose.
2024 will undoubtedly be a busy year. I look forward to listening and learning; to providing greater insights into streaming; to understanding shared challenges and working towards mutually beneficial solutions; and to driving Streaming Forward.
2. Tune In: Streaming in 2023
2023 was one of streaming’s biggest years to date. We’ve included a round-up below of some of this year’s highlights:
- Music listeners say that streaming is the #1 source of music discovery, and 86% of listeners value the recommendations made by their services, according to DiMAs Streaming Forward: 2023 Fan Engagement Report.
- Streaming is a force multiplier. Research conducted by economists at Secretariat and commissioned by DiMA found that for every $1 in economic value generated by streaming, other sectors of the U.S. economy gain an additional $1.65.
- Streaming is (once again) the #1 source of recorded music revenue, with streaming services driving 84% of all recorded music revenue in the first half of 2023
- The World Economic Forum claims that streaming is driving a global music industry resurgence, leading to more engaged music fans who are constantly discovering music, new and old.
3. For the Record: CRTC Testimony
Recently DiMA and its members testified to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) on streaming services’ support of Canadian creators and works. DiMA’s testimony highlighted the ways streaming supports Canadian artists, detailing success stories from member initiatives designed to empower indigenous artists and share Canadian content on streaming platforms. Read DiMA’s full testimony here.
4. Rewind: DiMA’s Year in Review
As we turn towards 2024, here’s some highlights of DiMA’s work this past year…
Streaming by the numbers: DiMA released four new studies in 2023, each revealing different benefits of streaming and shedding light on the value music streaming services provide to listeners, creators, and rightsholders:
- Streaming Forward: 2023 Fan Engagement Report highlighted how much music fans value the innovative customization and personalization offered by streaming, leading to more engaged and empowered fans, and helping us to understand why streaming is so popular.
- Economic research offered new analysis about jobs, growth, and the impact music streaming is having on workers and businesses across the U.S. economy.
- Streaming Country Music Forward explored the relationship between country music and streaming through the insights of fans and streaming executives focused on the genre, sparking conversation in industry media on streaming’s critical role in bringing country music to fans throughout the world. DiMA hosted an event in Nashville, announcing the report with a panel discussion with Johnny Chiang, Sr. Dir./Country Programming at SiriusXM Pandora; Margaret Hart, Head/Nashville Label & Industry Relations at YouTube; and Michelle Tigard Kammerer, Head/Country Music at Amazon Music. The report also featured insights from Jay Liepis at Apple Music and Brittany Schaffer, then at Spotify.
- Streaming Hip-Hop Music Forward 2023 looked at hip-hop fans’ streaming and listening habits and engagement trends to better understand what hip-hop is, its impact, and its evolution. The report tells the story of how streaming is helping hip-hop artists to reach audiences and connect creatively with the world. DiMA unveiled the report at an event celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary featuring House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Timothy Hinshaw, Amazon; Eric ‘Stens’ Stensvaag, Feed.fm; Briana Younger, Spotify; Tuma Basa, YouTube; and Joshua ‘J1’ Raiford, Pandora. The report also featured insights from Carl Chery at Spotify and Ebro Darden at Apple.
Celebrate: Music plays a huge role in cultural recognition and development, and in 2023 DiMA highlighted streaming’s work to connect artists and fans.
- For Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, DiMA interviewed Jeff Yasuda, the CEO of DiMA’s newest member fm, to discuss his music journey, what AANHPI heritage means to him, and what to look forward to from Feed Media Group.
- For Pride Month, DiMA curated a playlist of tracks representing LGBTQIA+ artists through the years, accessible on your favorite music streaming platforms. DiMA members celebrated the LGBTQIA+ community by creating unique, interactive resources for streamers and artists, here.
- For Black Music Month, DiMA connected with Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD), Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), and Pandora’s Vice President of Music Programming, Joshua “J1” Raiford, to talk about the influence of Black artists and their impact on music. DiMA also asked Dwandalyn R. Reece, Associate Director for Humanities at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and music curator and educator Mark Puryear to offer insights into the history of Black music as part of our ongoing work to look at ways music streaming can open doors to past eras and underrecognized artists.
- For Hispanic Heritage Month, DiMA explored fans’ embrace of Latin music and the artists who create it, finding that streamers of Latin music spend $258 on recorded music annually, 29% more than the average streamer.
Speaking of Streaming: DiMA has been busy advancing policies that keep both fans and artists in mind, from filing comments with the US Copyright Office on AI and copyright concerns, to testifying at a hearing on the Music Modernization Act and its successes, to supporting global initiatives like Credits Due. DiMA has been supporting legislation and policies that help ensure streaming services can continue to relentlessly innovate on behalf of artists and fans.
The following are some measures DiMA took to support this mission in 2023:
- Former DiMA President & CEO, Garrett Levin, participated in the US Copyright Office listening session on “AI and Copyright – Music and Sound Recordings,” discussing data challenges, ongoing questions, and the development of new technology in the music industry.
- Former DiMA President and CEO Garrett Levin testified to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet at a field hearing in Nashville, Tennessee, titled “Five Years Later – The Music Modernization Act.” on behalf of the world’s leading audio streaming companies. Levin’s comments noted ways to continue improving the system to ensure that it meets the needs of all stakeholders.
- Former DiMA President and CEO Garrett Levin joined Tom Gray of The Ivors Academy, singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and music business leader Amy Thomson at SXSW for a panel that contrasted conversations about the music economy in the US and the UK.
- DiMA’s Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs Sally Rose Larson sat down with MusicWatch’s Russ Crupnick in a fireside chat at Mondo NYC , titled ‘Living the Stream’, to unpack new data on how streaming became America’s most beloved music listening format.
Follow DiMA (@digitalmediausa) on Twitter to follow the conversation.
