Things are coming up Milhouse for the Australian music industry, whose luck seems to have finally turned a corner.
Revenue has risen for the first time in three years, largely thanks to a widespread uptake of music streaming.
New figures from ARIA show that the overall value of Aussie recorded music rose by a total of 5% in 2015, marking the industry’s first upwards trend since 2012.
And as the ABC reports, this turnaround is thanks to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music doubling their earnings from $23 million to $46 million, which also means they now account for a whopping 62 per cent of the overall music industry pie.
The findings also echo figures from the US, where it was reported last month that streaming had generated more money than album sales for the first time ever.
On the flipside here in Aus, digital download sales have plummeted by almost 13 per cent, while CD sales have fallen 4 per cent.
Vinyl on the other hand is sitting pretty after enjoying a sturdy 38 per cent sales boon in 2015.
Now, while this overall rise in profits spells good news for the industry at large, it’s important to note that close to none of that money is going to the artists themselves, whose meagre income from music streaming royalties has been well documented and widely criticised.
So basically, the Australian music industry is doing this right now:
While its biggest bands are being forced to hock their shit on eBay, resort to ongoing fan donations or else quit completely in response to the problem of not even making the Australian minimum wage in spite of their huge national and international success.
Which probably looks a little more like this:
Still, it’s something.
