MIDiA is fielding its annual independent label and distributor survey. This is the chance for the independent sector to have its voice heard. Given all of the changes that are taking place in the streaming economy, there has perhaps never been a more important time for this. In the survey, we ask about topics such as two-tier licensing, artist cut through, AI, catalogue and marketing.
All participants will get a copy of the final report so you can get a definitive view of how the wider independent marketplace is performing and how it is responding to today’s market challenges and opportunities.
Crucially, all of the data is treated as strictly confidential. We never share respondent level data with anyone and we only use the respondent level data to create the aggregate market figures. This means your company-level responses are not seen by anyone else.
MIDiA has fielded this survey for years now and have been trusted with their data by many hundreds of labels and distributors.
MIDiA is currently fielding two separate surveys that will help us create the definitive view of the contribution from music creators and independent labels to the global music market. We are exploring what it means to be a label and a creator in today’s fast-changing and challenge-strewn music business. We are listening to what challenges they face and how they feel about the coming year.
We have already got some great responses, but we want more! Not only will these surveys give you the chance to have your voice heard, we will share a summary of the results with all respondents. This means you will be able to benchmark yourself against your peers to get a better sense of how you are doing and assess whether your concerns and aspirations are shared by others.
Crucially, we do not share ANY respondent-level data. What this means is that your responses only ever go into the total average responses. Nothing is ever attributable to you and we have a comprehensive privacy and data protection policy that you can read when you take the survey.
Independent label survey: if you are a record label or distributor of any size that is not a division of a major record label, then this is the survey for you. Click here to take the survey. (Note – the extra reason for independent labels and distributors to take this survey is that we use the data to help create the global market shares data, to create the most accurate reflection of the contribution of independents possible)
Measuring the actual contribution of the independent sector to the global recorded music market is an important but difficult task. The traditional way of thinking about independent market share is to take the total market and remove the majors’ revenues from that. But this ‘distribution’ basis of market share under-represents independents because the majors also distribute independent labels and artists. The truest measure of the independents’ contribution is on a copyright ownership basis. This is a task MIDiA has conducted for many years now and a crucial input into this is our global independent label and distributor survey.
This survey is now live and we encourage independent labels and distributors of all sizes and geographies to complete it. The more completes submitted, the more accurate the final dataset will be.
We use this survey to take the pulse of what the independent sector is thinking, what challenges and opportunities it is facing, and as a measure of its commercial performance. Thus, confidentiality is absolutely crucial. All responses to this survey are treated as strictly confidential, and no company-level data, nor company-level market share is shared with any party or presented anywhere. This commitment has earnt the trust of independent labels and distributors to collect their data and build market-level datasets that they can benefit from.
All survey respondents will receive a summary of the themes component of the survey (e.g., market sentiment, market opportunities, marketing challenges, etc.) and a complete summary of the global market shares dataset. In short, MIDiA Research wants to ensure that all participants benefit from this market intel and can benchmark themselves against the market.
With 2020 now comfortably behind us and public companies in their earnings cycle, a clear picture is starting to emerge of how the global recorded music market performed. MIDiA is midway through fielding the global independent label survey that will help create the definitive view of how the independent sector fared in 2020 and its contribution to the global market.
We are fielding the survey now in order to create global market figures over the coming weeks. Getting this done now is important as it is the period when the global view of the market is shaped, particularly among the investor community.
We have had a great response so far and have already collected data accounting for billions of dollars of revenue. All labels that take part in the survey will get the full results and a copy of the final report when it is published, for free.
In addition to the detailed country level market sizing report that will come later in the year, we will be feeding the results into our global market shares report that will be published in the coming weeks. All independent labels that take part in the survey will get a copy of this report for free also.
MIDiA Research is conducting a major study of independent label revenue in order to create a definitive review of the independent sector’s contribution to the global music market. MIDiA conducted this work for a number of years on behalf of the Worldwide Independent Network and is now independently creating a dataset for 2020. The last WINTel study can be found here. We are calling for all independent labels, of whatever size and geography, to complete our survey which can be found here.
Why this survey is so important
The most common method used to determine the global market share of independents is to take total recorded music revenues from MIDiA or the IFPI and then deduct the revenues of the major labels. This is how the independent sector has been measured for years. However, it under-represents the value of independents because many independent labels are either distributed directly via majors or via one of their wholly owned distribution arms such as the Orchard. This means that independent label revenue appears within major label revenue. Although MIDiA’s figure is higher than the IFPI’s to reflect the latter’s under-reporting of independents, the method still under-represents independents whichever total market figure is used.
The purpose of this survey is to pick up where WINTel left off, to separate out the revenue that is distributed by majors and allocate that directly to the independents, thus revealing the larger, actual independent market share based on ownership of copyright rather than by the company that distributes the revenue.
What is needed from independent labels
The survey asks a number of questions about each record label’s revenue, growth and the distributors it works with. We appreciate that this information is highly sensitive which is why we treat the data with utmost care and confidentiality, just as we did when we fielded the survey on behalf of WINTel.
As with all our previous surveys, all responses will be treated as strictly confidential. No individual responses will ever be shared. Instead, all responses will only ever be aggregated into national and international numbers. The respondent-level data will be stored securely, encrypted in an offline location and will never be shared with any third party whatsoever.
What is in it for independent labels
MIDiA will provide a full summary of the final, aggregated results to all independent labels and distributors that participate in this survey. The final data will present independent label market share data globally and at country level.
In addition, the survey asks respondents about issues such as how the global pandemic has affected their business and how confident they feel about 2021. We will also be providing this data to all respondents, enabling them to benchmark themselves against their peers.
Next steps
We are fielding this survey throughout December and the start of 2021. Once the survey fielding is complete MIDiA will build its market share model using the results of the survey and other inputs such as reported company financials and input from direct conversations with a number of larger independent labels.
As a reminder, at no stage will any label-level data be seen by anyone else other than the MIDiA analysts working on the project and they will not share any of this information with anyone else.
We look forward to your participation. No independent label is too big or small to take part. If you have any questions regarding this project then email info@midiaresearch.com
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