The music business is in the midst of a growth period. With total revenues increased 10 percent in 2018 to $4.6 billion and streaming making up a whopping three-quarters of revenue, the industry is healthy albeit putting most of its eggs in the streaming technology basket. In 2019, the “biz” doesn’t look that much different than it did years ago. Sure, most of the dedicated music retail is dead and gone and physical music sales are only a fraction of what they used to be, but we still have major labels, A&Rs, release dates, worldwide tours, recording contracts, record industry executives. You get the point.
But what will all of this look like in 10 years? 2029 is sure to bring about change in music just as time brings change to other industries. Look what’s happening with the car business now around autonomous vehicles and the beginning stages of driving becoming a thing of the past. We took a look into our crystal ball to highlight 10 ways the music industry will change in 10 years.