Get ahead of the game with these music industry trends for 2022!
As you’ll be aware, the music industry has rapidly changed over the past 2 years. With a 35% employment drop in the UK, thanks to Covid-19.
But with The Music Business Association predicting the live music sector could be worth $31 billion worldwide this year, 2022 is turning over a new leaf for musicians and bringing with it new opportunities for your music career.
So how can you take advantage of music’s biggest resurgence since 2018? It’s time to get ahead of the game with these music industry trends for 2022!
NFT’s (Non-Fungible Tokens)
One of the newest trends to enter the music industry in 2022 is NFT’s. Although they have been around since 2015, they are only now beginning to gain mainstream attraction with more market accessibility.
If you’re unaware of what NFT’s are, they form part of the cryptocurrency market and exist in a decentralized banking system known as the “Blockchain.”
They are purchased using crypto like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) and act the same way as a rare vinyl in that they can be bidded for and can increase or decrease in value.
As well as this, they have an authentication certificate locked into the code of the NFT which means that only one person can own a particular NFT at any given time, making them incredibly sought after by collectors.
This piece of technology is fascinating for musicians as this means you can sell your music as an NFT which grants you more power in the market.
For example, you can sell several copies of your song as NFT’s and allow your fans to sell your NFT for a profit when the NFT increases in value, meaning your fans can now directly invest in your career.
This has tremendous monetary value, but the cultural value which strengthens the relationship between music creators and consumers is why I believe this new trend is important for 2022.
Tik Tok and Short-Form Content
When it comes to your content game, there’s no better platform than Tik Tok. Having been downloaded 2.6 billion times on various devices, this makes Tik Tok one of the most popular platforms in the world.
For musicians, this means the market is strong and ripe with opportunity. Especially considering Tik Tok’s positive ROI as the go-to platform for short-form content.
This is because short-form content is a very time and cost-effective method of producing content to promote your music.
It costs you nothing to create a video for Tik Tok and with a maximum of 3 minutes per video, it means you can create more content within a smaller time-frame, allowing you more time to focus on the music.
As well as this, Tik Tok’s music feature has shown amazing results with users placing music in the background of their creations, giving music creators free advertising and a new method of discovery.
Tik Tok has been long discussed among music industry professionals for the past few years, so it’s a good idea to check out this platform before the market becomes too flooded and Tik Tok monitizes their organic reach.
However, don’t forget other platforms have also noticed the benefits of short-form content, with Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
The Return of Live Music
Even though we saw the return of shows in 2021, these were very limited and had to adhere to strict Covid-19 guidelines to ensure they could take place.
In 2022 we are going to see the return of live music on a much larger scale. Live Nation, the largest ticket sales company in the world, has already booked 2x as many shows for 2022.
With such an increased influx of live music, this means that you need to be organising your live shows well ahead of time to avoid being disappointed when your favourite venues are all booked up.
On top of this, music consumers are dying to return to live events.
According to the AIF (Association of Independent Festivals) 51% of UK festivals were cancelled in 2021 including major festivals like Glastonbury and Kendal Calling.
Which can only mean one thing, 2022’s festivals are going to have to make up for their cancellations in 2021 and bounce back bigger and better than ever before.
Keep an eye out for those limited pre-sale tickets and make sure to contact your festival booking representative to get lined up on the bill. You want to make sure your return to live music is a special event for your fans and get back on the touring circuits before it’s too late.
Which industry trends are you going to adopt? Let me know in the comments down below!
Joshua R F Murphy 