Taylor’s Won The Battle – But Who Will Win The Music Streaming War?

Our favourite Tay Tay has been known to take on the big guns in her industry – famously withdrawing her songs from Spotify last year arguing that they do not fairly compensate the artists at the heart of the company’s success. She was at it again recently over Apple Music’s launch because the streaming service did not intend to pay royalties during its three-month free trial, delivering a simple killer line; ‘we don’t ask you for free iPhones…Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.’

A matter of days later, tech giant Apple had submitted to the 25-year-old pop star, stating it would provide royalties on their 3 month trial, an incredible turnaround for one of the most powerful companies in the world. So what does this all mean for the music industry and the debate over how much free content should be given away online?

Perhaps what’s so miraculous about this is that Taylor has been heard at all – artists have stood up to the industry before with limited success. Yet Taylor, with a tweet, a blog or an interview is listened to and taken seriously. Having this discussion at all is reflecting a new growing trend in the industry – a transparency that we haven’t really seen before and a huge development in the online music debate. Indeed, the landscape is changing. Jay Z’s launch of Tidal this year is an interesting example that typifies this; direct from artists to consumers, cutting out the middleman altogether -similar to the likes of Uber or AirBnB.

However, still the biggest obstacle will be in changing the perception of artists’ music as content to giveaway (in Apple’s case to sell phones, in Spotify’s to sell advertising). Like all brands, the future will be about what added value you can add to a user and their community and how to engage them when cheaper, faster and sometimes better alternatives are available.

Taylor’s won the battle – who will win the war?

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