The creator economy is showing a lot of potential as established stars are seeking to grow their personal brands on a bigger array of digital platforms. According to research by YouTube and Oxford Economics, YouTube’s creator ecosystem contributed $20.5 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2020, and chief business officer Robert Kyncl expects the creator economy to “rival Hollywood in terms of economic impact and job creation”.

Mexico and Brazil both are the first and second countries where people consume most music per capita: 25.7 and 25.4 hours per week, respectively, compared to an average of 18.4 hours per week across the globe. The results were part of the IFPI’s recently released “Engaging With Music” report, which dug deep into the music consumption habits of 43,000 people in 21 countries.

The services division at Apple, which includes Apple TV+, Apple Music, the App Store and iCloud, reached nearly $18.3 billion in revenue during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2021. Apple CFO Luca Maestri told analysts that Apple services had 745 million paid subscribers, up from the “more than 700 million” disclosed during Apple’s last quarterly earnings call.

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Compiled by Heidi Seo

Exploration Weekly - November 5, 2021

Brands Want Bigger Slice of the Creator Economy

Established stars like, say, Will Smith are seeking to grow their personal brands on a widening array of digital platforms. At the same time, these platforms are creating new stars like Addison Rae who are expanding into film, TV and branded content. And agencies are aiming to be the middlemen to monetize the creator economy. “There is so much connectivity because our actors and athletes want to be in music and fashion and tech and NFTs and esports, and our esports people want to be involved with brands and on television,” said UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer. The opportunity isn’t niche. Per research released Oct. 6 by YouTube and Oxford Economics, YouTube’s creator ecosystem alone contributed $20.5 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2020. “There is the potential that if it wasn’t just YouTube paying out the way it [does], and if all of the other companies who are in the creator economy space … contributed in similar fashion, the creator economy could easily rival Hollywood in terms of economic impact and job creation, just as it does today in terms of cultural influence,” said YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl.

Mexico, Brazil Consume More Music on Average Than Any Other Markets: IFPI

According to data culled from the IFPI's recently released "Engaging With Music" report, which dug deep into the music consumption habits of 43,000 people in 21 countries, Latin American countries are the top consumers of music worldwide, by a wide margin. Leading the charge is Mexico, a country where people consume most music per capita: 25.7 hours per week, compared to an average of 18.4 hours per week across the globe. At No. 2 is Brazil, where fans listen to 25.4 hours of music per week. Finally, Argentina -- the third Latin American country included in the study -- is at No. 6, consuming 22.6 hours of music per week. The trend only seems to be going up with new technology. Short-form video, for example, has exploded everywhere in the world. But while the global average TikTok use is one in four people per day, according to IFPI, in Brazil 57% of all respondents use the app daily, more than anywhere else. Mexico follows, with 52% of daily use.

Apple Services Revenue Reaches $18.3B Amid Overall Earnings Miss

Apple services, which includes Apple TV+, Apple Music, the App Store and iCloud, brought in nearly $18.3 billion in revenue, topping Wall Street expectations, during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2021. The tech giant did not disclose the distribution of revenue or exact number of subscribers across its services, but Apple CFO Luca Maestri told analysts that Apple’s services division had 745 million paid subscribers, up from the “more than 700 million” disclosed during Apple’s last quarterly earnings call. The fiscal quarter’s services revenue represents almost a 5% increase from Q3 and a 26% jump year over year. Total revenue for Apple hit $83.4 billion, short of analysts’ expectations but an increase from last quarter’s reported $81.4 billion. Product sales — led by the iPhone — accounted for $65 billion of the company’s Q4 revenue.

Music Fairness Awareness Month Calls for US Radio Royalties

MusicFirst’s new campaign called “Music Fairness Awareness Month” is targeting the traditional radio industry in the US with regards to the long-running unrest about the lack of performance royalties paid by those broadcasters. The November-long campaign will up the pressure for this situation to change, tied to the proposed American Music Fairness Act legislation that was introduced in June this year. Campaigners in favor of that act continue to battle another piece of pending legislation, the Local Radio Freedom Act, which seeks to rule out any introduction of such royalties.

How YouTube Sidestepped Woes Over Apple’s Privacy Changes

When Snap revealed Oct. 21 an overall miss caused by Apple’s iOS privacy changes, shares tumbled 20%. Days later, Facebook (now officially rebranded as Meta) missed revenue expectations and offered modest projections for its fourth-quarter performance “in light of continued headwinds from Apple’s iOS 14 changes.” Released in April, Apple’s privacy change requires apps to receive user permission to track their behavior across other apps and websites. If the user opts out, the company can no longer track customers’ data within their own app using Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers system. But of the four ad-driven tech companies, Alphabet — parent company of Google and YouTube — emerged with strong earnings, driven by the $53.1 billion in revenue from Google Advertising. YouTube also brought in a 43% increase year-over-year with $7.2 billion. The trends demonstrated the strength of Google’s ad business, which was able to circumvent changes to ad targeting thanks to its dominance in search and the company’s ownership of the Android operating system, analysts say. About 16% of U.S. users agree to be tracked, according to the mobile analytics firm Fully. Some advertisers, as a result, have reduced their spending at platforms that focus on targeted ads and sought out others that can provide more information, such as Google. That, in the short term, might provide an edge to YouTube as it battles social media giants for ad dollars.

Spain Recorded Music Revenues Grew 22% in First Half of 2021

New figures published by Spanish industry body Promusicae show a strong bounce back for the country’s recorded music market, after COVID-19 reined in its growth in 2020. The body says that revenues grew by 22% in the first half of 2021 to nearly €170 million, after growth of 4.4% in 2020. Streaming is more than 70% of those revenues, but there was growth in the first six months of 2021 for sales (up by 22%) and video streaming (up by 38%). A separate Promusicae study shows a strong demand for music – an average of 20 hours a week of listening compared to the global average of 18.4 hours.

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