Content Oversupply!
I was curious about how much music is being uploaded to the Internet every day. I knew the number of songs was high, but I was somewhat shocked to read the actual stats. For me, I’m happy I have 20 monthly listeners on Spotify!
Courtesy of Perplexity:
According to recent data, approximately 120,000 new tracks are being uploaded to music streaming platforms every day[1][5][7]. This represents a significant increase from previous years:
- In 2022, the average was about 93,400 tracks uploaded daily[5][7].
- In early 2021, Spotify reported over 60,000 tracks being uploaded daily to its platform[6].
- In 2018, the number was around 20,000 tracks per day[6].
This rapid growth means:
- Over 10 million new tracks were uploaded in just the first quarter of 2023[7].
- At the current rate, over 43 million new tracks could be uploaded to streaming services by the end of 2023[5][7].
The massive influx of new music is causing concerns in the industry:
- It's becoming increasingly difficult for artists to break through and get noticed[1].
- There are worries about the dilution of royalties for professional artists under the current pro-rata payment system[3].
- Only a small fraction of these tracks receive significant plays. In 2023, 86.2% of tracks on streaming platforms received 1,000 or fewer plays[3].
This trend is driven by factors such as:
- The ease of digital music distribution for independent artists[1].
- The rise of AI-generated music[7].
- The growing number of music creators worldwide[4].
Industry leaders like Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl have expressed concerns about this "content oversupply" and its implications for the music business[7][8].
Citations:
[1] https://routenote.com/blog/how-many-songs-are-uploaded-to-spotify-every-day/
[2] https://explodingtopics.com/blog/music-streaming-stats
[3] https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/152-million-tracks-1000-plays-on-streaming-services/
[4] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253210147
[6] https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/its-happened-100000-tracks-are-now-being-uploaded/