2021 arrived with a lot of musical tunes. The music industry has had significant shifts in the initially common trends during this Covid-19 period. Some of these new trends might change again. Some might just be here to stay.
Farewell, genre
One major change the music industry is experiencing is lesser and lesser consideration of genre. Hip-hop artists dressed like popstars sound like a 70s rock band on a Gengetone music beat from Kenya, and it is impressive. The industry is experiencing freedom it has never had before. Music creators are producing anything that makes them and the fans feel good. Anything that can sell. Genre is of no significance anymore. With improving music technology, music is having no boundaries on creativity. New talents crop up each day with new styles.
New faces
The rate at which new music artists are making appearances on our streaming platforms is amazing. Whether it is due to the generation’s high affinity for clout, we do not know. It might be new music technology. Creating music has become very cheap with its returns promising. It could be that most people are jobless and choose to venture into the entertainment industry. It could be that it is a new passcode to existing and that it is only you and I that are still in the dark. Maybe. We really cannot tell.
The positive side of Covid-19
Most industries have taken a hit from the coronavirus. For the music industry, it has been a romantic pillow fight. The lockdowns initiated by governments created boredom in homes. This is the perfect breeding spot for digital music. Now more than ever, people are streaming music left to right and center. Music downloads have increased tremendously. Business is good.
No, honey, you cannot see your favorite artist
Though the online music market is setting records, it has come at a cost; public music events. Governments have banned music concerts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Where they have not, artists have shown up on stages only to sing to their hands. Turnouts to music concerts are low. The economy is bad. Tickets seem too expensive. Besides, most fans are too scared to get into large crowds for fear of exposing themselves to the risk of the virus. Things are just not the same anymore. These conditions have forced even artists who were willing to put up performances to look the other way. You will not be seeing any public music performances for a very long time.
Brewing Piracy
While the Covid-19 era has been a big season for music producers and artists on the digital level, the booming use of the platform has also had its ugly side, Piracy. Most licensed streaming sites have waived their streaming rates to curb this and maintain their traffic, but it is not enough. Making money has been hard. It is getting harder for people to resist the fact that illegal streaming sites are available for free, not just during this corona period, but as long as they exist. Illegal torrent downloads of music based on cloud is also at an all-time high.