Global Digital Music Content Market 2016-2020

Overview of the global digital music content market

Technavio’s market research analyst predicts the global digital music content market to grow at a CAGR of around 9% by 2020. The digital music content market is undergoing a gradual replacement of digital music records and CDs by several alternatives such as portable storage devices like iPods, multimedia players, and cloud-storage services. People prefer listening to music through cloud music that allows them to store, stream, download, and share the content. Cloud computing has become a crucial component in the market as it offers legal access to online music, even from the remote servers. Services like iTunes Match have gained huge popularity in the market and have accelerated the frequency of music downloads. In addition, the market is also gaining tremendous support from the social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube, which help artists to create content that their fans demand and help in more active participation from the audience side. Such developments will positively impact the growth of this market during the forecast period.

EMEA will be the fastest-growing region in the digital music content market and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of more than 14% by 2020. European countries such as the UK, Germany, and Sweden are the major revenue-contributing nations in the region. The primary reason for this region’s growth will be the strong music development in Africa. Africa’s digital music content and downloading scenario are witnessing high competition from domestic players like iROKING, Spinlet, and Simfy which are trying to establish themselves in the global market, will further accelerate growth in the overall region during the forecast period.

Competitive landscape and key vendors

The market is dominated by a few vendors who compete in terms of online and offline streaming, collection song portfolio, and subscription fee. Competition in the market is expected to intensify during the forecast period with the increase in product extensions and technological innovations. Vendors are likely to grow inorganically with the entry of new players in the market. To sustain themselves and expand their footprint in the   market, vendors are resorting to M&A and strategic alliances that help them to increase their market shares, collect new domain-specific knowledge, venture into new markets, enhance profitability, reduce the operational expenses, and expand their audience reach.

Leading vendors in the market are -

• Apple
• Deezer
• Google
• iHeartMedia
• Pandora
• Spotify

Other prominent vendors in the digital music content market include CBS, Clear Channel Radio, Gaana.com, Grooveshark, Guvera, Hungama MyPlay, JB Hi-Fi Pty, Line, Mixcloud, News, RadioTime, Rara, Rhapsody, Saavn, and SoundCloud.

Segmentation by type and analysis of the digital music content market

• Permanent downloads
• Music streaming

The music streaming segment is anticipated to gain huge popularity in the digital music content market during the forecast period. Music streaming services enable the users with real-time, uninterrupted access to music without downloading files. The users can legally avail high-quality songs for free for a pre-defined period or by paying a minimal subscription fee. Much of the segment’s growth can be attributed to the emerging music streaming sites, high-speed internet, cloud technologies, and rapidly changing customer requirements. The growing demand for real-time music access will be the major factor spurring growth in the music streaming market over the next four years. The subscription-based music streaming is expected to be the largest contributor to the music streaming market.

Segmentation by age group and analysis of the digital music content market

• Below 18 years
• 18-40 years
• 41-60 years
• Above 60 years

The age group between 18-40 years accounted for more than 50% of the legal downloads and streaming in 2015. Much of this segment’s growth can be attributed to the growth of the music streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify, which has shifted the focus towards music downloading or streaming. The use of the digital platforms to listen to music is more popular among the younger population, especially age group of 18-40, as they are technologically advanced. The music distributors are offering high-quality music and options such as cloud storage space in order to attract more users, which will drive further growth of this segment in the coming years.

 Key questions answered in the report include

• What will the market size and the growth rate be in 2020?
• What are the key factors driving the global digital music content market?
• What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the global digital music content market?
• What are the challenges to market growth?
• Who are the key vendors in the global digital music content market?
• What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global digital music content market?
• Trending factors influencing the market shares of the Americas, APAC, and EMEA.
• What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the global digital music content market?

Technavio also offers customization on reports based on specific client requirement.

Related reports:

• Global Music Streaming Market 2016-2020
• Global Digital Content Market 2021-2025
• Global Mobile Music Streaming Market 2015-2019
• Global Cloud Mobile Music Services Market 2015-2019