At Broaden Your Frame We Talk About Music

The recording industry is growing. According to the IFPI Global Music Report 2022, this is an 18.5% increase globally, with a double-digit performance that covered all the main markets reaching almost 26 billion dollars in 2021. Similarly, the Italian recording sector, which after five years returns to the top ten of the most important markets globally, with a 27.8% growth to over 332 million euros in revenues. These numbers bode well in the context of the global pandemic, and they were discussed by Enzo Mazza, CEO of the Federation of the Italian Music Industry (FIMI), during the meeting 'Beyond disruption: learning from the music industry', organized by the Graduate School as part of the cycle dedicated to students 'Broaden your frame'.

The meeting was moderated by the Dean of the Graduate School, Antonella Carù, and saw the participation, in a round table, of Eleonora Bianchi, head of Digital services & Consumption, Universal Music Italia, Anna Bregola, data analyst of Warner Music Italy, and Luca Fantacone, director International Frontline of Sony Music Entertainment Italy.

Deloitte/IFPI data on the Italian music market, as already happened in 2020, also show that revenues from subscriptions to streaming platforms have driven the sector: the premium segment grew by 35.6%. Strong impact also in the video streaming area supported by advertising with a + 46.3%. Overall, the entire segment between audio and video streaming grew by 24.6% to 208 million euros in revenues. In the audio segment alone, Italian consumers make an average of over a billion streams every week.

And in an increasingly streaming-friendly world, even record companies must change their perspective, as explained by Paola Cillo, associate professor of corporate economies, who discussed Digital Disruption in Creative Industries: Evidence from Music and Fashion. "The disruption generated in the market by music streaming has led to a change of strategy and a need for innovation on the part of the majors, which must rethink not only distribution, but also the product itself, in accordance with digital fruition."

Not only that, new technologies "have increased the possibilities of creative partnerships, which is not often emphasized," added Andrea Ordanini, BNP Paribas Chair in Marketing and Service Analytics. "Technology has facilitated and multiplied featuring and digital participations in songs, an aspect that the artists themselves care more and more about."