With their expensive instruments, classy but tasteful fashion, and impeccable taste for expensive parties, it’s a wonder how musicians really make money. The Artist Revenue Streams Project is a multistage research project that was conducted specifically to find out how musicians and composers earn their keep.
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| Image Source: hypebot.com |
Why I think the project is a great idea
During the last decade, there have been drastic changes in the way music is created and distributed to the fans. Instead of vinyl records, cassette tapes, CDs, and minidiscs, digital is now the preferred form of distribution. Even radios and televisions are now becoming obsolete. I think that knowing how the shift to digital has affected musicians and composers revenue streams is important, as shifting to digital means reduced cost barriers to creation, distribution, and sale of music because of new technologies like music creation software, streaming services, and digital music stores.
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| Image Source: blog.wfmu.org |
How was the research conducted?
There are three parts to the research. In the first part, the researchers conducted interviews of a diverse set of musicians (around 80) to find out information about their revenue streams. The second part involved reviewing a set of two-year financial records (from 2010 to 2012) of some musicians who were interviewed during the first part of the research. Creating an online survey that asked relevant questions about artists’ revenue streams was the third part; more than 5,000 artists participated in the online survey.
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| Image Source: money.futureofmusic.org |
Many people may have thought that the shift to digital has been beneficial to musicians and composers; however, with the data acquired from this research, I think, this time, a more accurate picture can now be seen.
I’m Lou S. Habash, and I run a little dance studio called The Giddy Room in Berkshire, Massachusetts. Visit my Twitter page for a slice of my mind now and then.
