This year 2020 is passing by rapidly. After everything that is happening in the world today, most people turn to music to reduce their stress and anxiety. Due to the potentially fatal COVID-19 virus, things are no longer the way it was before. The world needs to get used to a “new normal” at the beginning of the new decade for survival. Even musicians and songwriters need to make plenty of adjustments to get through the difficulties brought by the pandemic.
People from the music industry are currently at a loss about how they can make their craft last a lifetime. Some opt to release their music digitally, while others choose to turn online.
Because of the need for adjustment, watching out for the next wave of music trends could also mean adapting to other ways to make the audience listen to their favorite music. Here are several trends to expect from the music industry in the coming years.
Shorter Track Length
The track length of most songs that belonged in the Top 40 in 2019 has an average of three minutes and seven seconds. But these are at least 30 seconds shorter compared to the famous songs from 2018. It is the result of the popularity of streaming services, where musicians try to make their singles more discoverable through playlists. As a result, the usual pop song structures are starting to become passé to lessen the risk of being skipped when lined with various songs from different artists. If the musicians want to sell their songs, they need to consider reducing their track length to make their fans enjoy sticking around to listen to the rest of the song.
Genres Are Obsolete
Gone are the days when musicians have to stay on their specific classification so their fans can hear them. In 2019, rapper Lil Nas X collaborated with country singer Billy Ray Cyrus to release the Grammy Award-winning song “Old Town Road.” The song became ob after Billboard silently removed it from the Hot Country chart because it allegedly did not have country music elements. But it did not stop the fans from listening to the song and earned critical recognition from different award-giving bodies. It also proves that artists are starting to take more risks. Fortunately, fans usually care about the culture other than the genre. It means that people can expect to hear songs that break down stylistic boundaries in the coming days.
Technology Rapidly Changes The Way Musicians Promote Their Songs
Due to the ever-changing technology and platforms, musicians need to keep up to adapt to the changes. Since fans use their mobile devices more to entertain themselves since the world is currently at a standstill, more artists opt to use live streaming platforms like YouTube, Facebook Live, and Instagram Live to connect with their listeners. Others also use dedicated live streaming sites like Mixer or Twitch.
Others use their websites to reach out to their listeners, primarily if they use their music to emphasize their advocacies. Holton’s Intersex Musician, for example, is the artist’s preferred venue to launch new music and talk about his plight as an intersex artist.
Say Goodbye To Physical Albums And Hello To Digital Sales
Since most countries need to implement some rules to prevent the spread of the virus, buying CDs in your favorite music stores could be next to impossible. Because of this, more musicians would decide to upload their singles to audio streaming service providers like Spotify or Apple Music.
Based on the data gathered by Nielsen for its 2019 Mid-Year Report, 78% of all music consumption belongs to streaming. While the popularity of vinyl records resurfaced during the previous years, it remains a novelty to most fans since not everyone owns a vinyl record player. Fortunately, selling music online is easier since musicians can upload their music on any platform of their choice.
Looking at the predicted trends in music can make any artist and people from the industry anxious or optimistic about their future. But it could be inevitable to feel discouraged if they will often look too much at the general practices used by others. However, they need to keep in mind that they can get ahead of the rest by understanding where the trend is heading so they can come up with the best solution to help their music stand out and get noticed by their target listeners.
