Just 4% of the 100,00 tracks uploaded to Spotify daily come via the three biggest music conglomerates – UMG. Sony and WMG – according to entertainment analytics firm Luminate.
That means that independent labels distributed 96% of the 98,500 tracks and even more often by self-service DIY platforms like DistroKid, TuneCore, and CD Baby.
This revelation comes via MBW‘s ongoing deep dive into Luminate data: “For every track released via major record company distribution today, another 24 are released outside their walls.”
The majors and some analysts like MBW’s Tim Inngham see all those competing tracks as a threat to Big Music. To fight back UMG boss Lucien Grainge has called for “an environment in which great music is not drowned out by an ocean of noise” and is experimenting with Deezer and TIDAL on how to make that happen.
But for indie labels and DIY artists, a 96% market share feels like an opportunity.
MORE: Universal Music, Deezer partner to test new streaming revenue models
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.
