#TheWeeklyRoundUp – 20.03.21

Oklahoma Removes Mask Restrictions and Opens Events 100%: “Wearing a Mask Should Be a Personal Decision” (Digital Music News)

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has officially unveiled plans to lift mask requirements and allow full-size live-entertainment events to resume in The Sooner State.

Oklahoma’s 28th governor announced the imminent rollback of COVID-19 restrictions during a 25-minute-long press conference, dubbed “Get Our Summer Back.” Predictably, given the conference’s title, Governor Stitt struck an optimistic tone when discussing the timetable associated with moving past the crisis and resuming pre-pandemic activities at scale.

“One year later, we’re coming to an end of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “The worst is behind us, and the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter than ever before. Oklahoma, we are on track to get our summer back.”

And in elaborating upon the source of his positive outlook, the governor pointed to the progress that Oklahoman medical professionals have made in administering COVID-19 vaccines. (Inversely, German music-festival promoters earlier this week cited the comparatively slow distribution of vaccines as one of the main reasons behind their 2021 event cancellations.)

“Over 1,000,000 vaccines have been administered,” Stitt said of his approximately 4,000,000-resident state, “and over 400,000 Oklahomans are fully vaccinated. This week we move into phase three of our vaccine rollout. That means 2,000,000 more Oklahomans are now eligible.

“Because of the progress we’ve made, I’ll be issuing a new executive order tomorrow. There will be no statewide restrictions on events or Oklahomans. I’m also removing the requirements to wear a mask in state buildings. More Oklahomans are getting vaccines each day, and the CDC’s new guidelines mean wearing a mask should be a personal decision based on your circumstances.

“But let me be clear: COVID is still here. Still in Oklahoma, it’s still in the United States, and we still need to do our part. You can still – and you’re even encouraged to wear a mask, depending on your circumstances. And I’ve said from the very beginning, the standard for normal cannot be zero cases.”

Two new executive orders have been posted to the Oklahoma secretary of state’s website today, one centering on the state’s driver’s license renewal window, the other detailing the statewide response to the pandemic moving forward.

Needless to say, the continued uptick in vaccinations and the corresponding return of traditional live music bodes well for musicians, who have suffered both financially and in terms of mental health due to lockdown restrictions and large-gathering bans.

Earlier this month, Governor Cuomo announced that New York music venues would be allowed to reopen at 33 percent capacity in April. Plus, some in the British live-event industry have backed the idea of a “vaccine passport.”

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The global recorded music industry grew by $1.5BN in 2020, despite the pandemic (MBW)

MBW’s Stat Of The Week is a series in which we show why a single data point deserves the attention of the global music industry. Stat Of the Week is supported by Cinq Music Group, a technology-driven record label, distribution, and rights management company.

Cast your mind back to the first half of 2020. Beleaguered (as we all were) by scary and depressing daily news about the pandemic, the global recorded music industry began to doubt the security of its own near-term future.

With retail stores closing and income from performance royalties being hit by the shuttering of bars and restaurants, reports began to emerge suggesting that record labels should brace themselves for a mini-crash.

Such fears were worsened in Q2, when the release schedule of the major music groups grew noticeably thin. (Case in point: The recorded music division of Universal Music Group – the world’s biggest record company – saw its quarterly revenues fall 4.5% YoY in Q2 on an organic basis.)

Better news, however, was just around the corner. Midia Research has today published its estimate of what the global recorded music industry – including majors, indies, and DIY artists – generated across the course of 2020 in wholesale/trade revenues.

Midia’s figures suggest that the recorded music business saw revenues of $23.1 billion in the year. That was up 7% on 2019, and represented a $1.5 billion monetary increase year-on-year.

It would take a hard-hearted industry commentator to complain about any growth in 2020, but that $1.5 billion / +7% annual uplift, notes Midia, was smaller than the $2.1 billion growth seen in 2019 (+11% YoY).

Midia notes: “Although the [worldwide] recorded music business experienced a dip in the earlier months of the pandemic, the remainder of the year saw industry revenue rebound.”

That rebound, notes Midia, saw the global recorded music business’s quarterly revenues bounce up 15% YoY in Q4 2020, “suggesting a strong 2021 may lie ahead if that momentum continues”.

Interestingly, global annual recorded music streaming revenues actually grew faster on a monetary basis in 2020 than they did in 2019.

Midia’s numbers suggest that total (recorded music trade) streaming revenues grew by $2.3bn (+19.6%) to $14.2bn in 2020.

In the prior year, the research company notes, annual streaming growth weighed in at the slightly lower figure of $2.2bn.

MBW’S STAT OF THE WEEK: THE GLOBAL RECORD INDUSTRY ADDED $1.5 BILLION TO ITS ANNUAL REVENUES IN 2020 VERSUS 2019 – AND THE INDUSTRY’S TOTAL STREAMING REVENUE ACTUALLY GREW FASTER THAN IT DID IN 2019.

Universal and Sony‘s recorded music operations both saw annual growth in 2020, with Warner‘s equivalent number staying flat on 2019.

Midia’s numbers suggest that combined, the three major music companies lost a little global market share in the 12 months, falling from 66.5% in 2019 to 65.5% in 2020.

Notes Midia: “While this shift is part of a long-term market dynamic, most of the dip was down to WMG reporting flat revenues for the year.”

Another factor here was one of the biggest industry stories of 2020: The continued growth of the DIY artist sector.

DIY artists uploading their music via the likes of TuneCore, DistroKid and SoundCloud generated $1.2 billion globally last year, says Midia.

This “artists direct” sector saw a 34.1% growth in annual revenues in 2020, according to the company’s numbers, and broke the billion dollar mark for the first time.

“Artists direct” grew their collective market share by more than a whole point to 5.1%, says Midia.