With 2017 now upon us, some of the industry’s leading executives have shared their biggest hopes for the biz over the next 12 months.
From the widespread adoption of blockchain technology to the hope for more breakthrough UK artists, the industry certainly has high expectations for the year ahead.
Below, we can reveal what’s on the 2017 wish lists of those shaping the market.
Jane Dyball, CEO, MPA Group of Companies
I’m going to say this every year until it happens: A new, lively prime time music terrestrial television programme playing new music with presenters under 30, produced by someone under 35, that the whole family can sit and watch. If it can’t be TOTP maybe it can be based on one of the great weekly streaming playlists which focus on new music.
Martin Bandier, chairman and CEO, Sony/ATV
That the industry makes a concerted effort to protect itself from the shortcomings of YouTube, which severely undervalues and under reports the music played on its service. We hope YouTube mends its way, which will benefit songwriters, music publishers, artists and record companies.
Anton Lockwood, director, DHP Family
In a world where politics seems increasingly divisive and negative, I hope music can be a force for being inclusive and bringing people together.
Kim Bayley, CEO, ERA
That we see more new British acts breaking through. Some A&R people blame streaming for the dearth of new talent, some streaming services say the A&R just isn’t good enough: what we should all agree on is that new local acts drive interest and excitement in the whole market. Let’s have more of them.
Mike Smith, managing director, Warner/Chappell
I hope that our songs and our artists continue to engage fans and make more people feel it’s worth subscribing to a music service. The industry is getting better every day at working out how to break new music and rekindle interest in classic songs through those services. I hope that this trend accelerates in 2017 so that we can deliver additional revenue for our talented songwriters.
Martin Goldschmidt, chairman, Cooking Vinyl
A 2017 contemporary version of Rock against Racism movement.
Geoff Taylor, CEO, BPI
That labels, industry, retailers, streaming services and the BBC collaborate intelligently to break more British artists.
Guy Moot, managing director, Sony/ATV UK
For the industry to stop putting out so much average music.
Sammy Andrews, music industry strategic advisor
Data access and understanding. This year I got to witness first hand what a state most companies’ data is in… it’s not pretty and it's impacting all sectors. That’s why Entertainment Intelligence (Ei) exists and it’s been great working with innovative companies who want to start taking data seriously, but alarmingly we’re seeing some distributors withholding access to labels’ own data, forcing use of inadequate in-house tools. This should be a cause for concern for anyone with a distribution deal. It’s fucking ludicrous. If your distributor won’t allow you to have your own data feeds or provide a way to access them for third-party tools… you might want to have a look around and find one that will.
Vanessa Higgins, director, Regent Street Records
That we adopt .bc files and blockchain technology. I can dream.
