Streaming: key to the future of the industry
The digitization of the industry has become a fundamental part of industry survival, especially on a stage dominated by cancellations of concerts and festivals during 2020. In fact, incomes from digital music have not only experienced steady growth since 2006, but now account for more than 80 percent of the total sales of Spanish recorded music, despite the renewed popularity of vinyl in the domestic market. .However, this dominance is also due to the success of platforms such as Spotify. A large part of the Spanish population has an account with the Swedish on-demand music service, whether free or paid. More and more Spaniards are willing to become premium users to avoid advertising and enjoy their favorite songs offline. It is not surprising that subscriptions to different streaming services are the source of about 61 percent of the sales revenue generated by digital music in Spain.
Piracy continues to wreak havoc
The rise of the internet led to novel ways to circumvent copyright protection, and as a result the music industry has suffered huge losses due to piracy. Although the rise of streaming platforms has helped to reduce illegal access to music, the industry losses continue to exceed 500 million euros a year. The biggest problem is that no short or long-term solution has been found. The high price of some digital content and the lack of legal consequences for piracy drive many Spanish users to access digital content through illegal channels.
