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This memo is presented by Curve.
Curve Royalty Systems offers a comprehensive solution for record labels and music publishers to manage complex royalty accounting with ease. Their cloud-based platform efficiently processes vast amounts of sales data, delivering accurate statements swiftly. With features like automated statement distribution, in-depth analytics, and a user-friendly creator dashboard, Curve enhances transparency and efficiency in royalty management.
Developed by industry professionals, their flexible system adapts to various royalty deals, ensuring precise calculations and reporting. Join leading music businesses in revolutionizing your royalty processes with Curve.
Why YouTube is Now Everyone’s Competitor
Here’s a short list of sectors that compete directly or indirectly with YouTube.
Music. More music is listened to on YouTube than any other platform where people listen to music. The major record labels also “compete” with YouTube. The platform’s large ad-supported tier is one of the reasons that premium music streaming services are still priced cheaper than other forms of media. For better or worse, if any future price hikes exceed the price consumers are willing to pay, even in developed markets, some users may flock to YouTube where they can listen to hundreds of millions of songs without spending any money.
Podcasts. This one is near and dear to me for obvious reasons. It’s the top place to consume podcast content. More than Spotify, Apple, and any other platform. Video podcasts have taken off. Most podcasters I know, especially audio purists, plan to lean more into video in 2025. No more “faces for radio.” Now we have to look good on camera!
Video-on-demand: Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Tubi, and all the other VOD services are competing against the attention (and advertiser dollars) that YouTube has, especially from younger consumers. More people are now watching YouTube on the biggest screens in their homes too. I see a future where YouTube TV and YouTube merge into the same Roku app.
Social media and gaming: Every social media platform, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, the list goes on. They all compete for the attention that YouTube continues to demand more and more of.
Outdoors: YouTube’s not alone here, but time spent on online platforms that command your attention is time not spent outdoors, touching grass, and other things. For the younger generations, does “y’all wasn’t outside” switch to “y’all wasn’t inside”?
It’s rare for a 20-year-old social media platform to continue to grow both its revenue and cultural relevance. The same could be said about Reddit, but with a market cap under $30 billion, it’s not in the same ballpark. YouTube is a $455 billion behemoth. As a standalone entity, YouTube would be the 19th largest company in the world.
Despite its dominant position, there are plenty of risks to its future.
Short-form video monetization. Can YouTube effectively monetize Shorts, the growing product whose popularity outpaces the revenue generated for creators and the underlying platform? Would a TikTok ban in the U.S. increase traffic to Shorts but put more pressure to better monetize the product?
YouTube Music: The major record labels want to see a price added to the ad-supported tiers that are currently free. We talked about this last week in our Spotify episode but it’s an even bigger threat to YouTube since the platform is more reliant on advertiser revenue (especially if music is still responsible for 25% of YouTube’s watch time).
Sports streaming. YouTube TV paid billions of dollars for its NFL Sunday Ticket package, but as the other VOD services compete for more sports packages, where will that leave YouTube? Will they make another splash?
We covered all this and more in our episode. We also talked about YouTube Premium vs YouTube Music, how creators make a living, its AI strategy, music videos, and whether YouTube will surpass Spotify as the top contributor of revenue to music rightsholders. Enjoy!
Listen here: Apple | Spotify | Overcast
Chartmetric Stat of the Week - Tweaker
Listen. G3 Gelo’s “Tweaker” is legit. Shout out to Li’Angelo, Lonzo, and the Ball family. The song has already been added to over 45 million Spotify playlists. It’s a throwback to that Cash Money Records, Mannie Fresh production style.
Gelo has also just signed to Def Jam. It wasn’t for that $8 million number floating around, but let’s give credit where credit due. Lavar Ball went 3 for 3 with his sons. Undefeated. Neva Lost.
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