USA
As the US continues to be the top consumer and producer of music worldwide, technological advances in recent years have increased the opportunities for international artists and industry professionals to take export ready entertainment to American audiences.
Ønsker du å vite mer om det amerikanske markedet?
Population:
327
million
GDP per capita:
57500
$USD
NB! Dette veikartet kun en introduksjon til det amerikanske markedet. Det er ikke ment som en fasit på hvordan man slår igjennom. Veikartet gir heller ingen totaloversikt over alt som kan være relevant for deg og dine behov. Endringer skjer fort i musikkindustrien, så vi oppfordrer bransjen til å melde inn eventuelle mangler eller feil i veikartet.
Markedsfakta
First half of 2016 showed a 16% decrease in US digital album sale compared to same period the year before.
Music streaming services in US increased 76% in 2016, surpassing digital music sale for the first time.
Overall music US consumption was up 3%.
Digital song downloads down 25%. Digital album downloads down 20%.
Digital music sale decreases quicker than physical sale.
Vinyl increased 11% in 2016, reaching a record with over 13 million vinyl copies sold. Internet/mail order has the largest share of physical sales.
According to Nielsen, the biggest genre in the US is hip-hop (25%). It used to be rock (23%), according to Nielsen.
Song sales decreased 25% compared to the earlier year.
This confirms that US consumers keep shifting from MP3 files to streaming, following the trend that started early in Scandinavia.
Americans played 284.7 billion music streams (audio/video) in the first half of 2017.
The US music industry are generating more revenue from streaming customers than album byers.
The three main streaming services in the US are Spotify, Apple Music and TIDAL, currently in that order.
Streaming helped the music retail revenue in the US to increase 11,4% in 2016 to $7.7 billion.
Media
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US radio is dominated by commercial advertising sponsorship when it comes to commercial stations. The country does not have a national broadcaster for the general public.
The radio network and internet radio platform iHeartRadio has 800 local stations in the US. Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest owner and operator of radio stations in the United States behind iHeart. Media conglomerate Emmis Communications has 19 stations in five US markets.
Direct-to-consumer subscription satellite radio began appearing in the United States in the early 2000s. Sirius and XM merged to Sirius XM Radio in 2009 and has a government-regulated monopoly on the satellite format.
New and/or independent artists may get airplay from commercial, college, and satellite stations. Commercial radio stations are often reluctant to play music from new and international artists, especially acts signed to independent labels.
College/campus, community and non-profit radio are the most open to playing new, unsigned, international types of music.
- iHeart
- RadioCumulus
- Premiere Networks
- Westwood One
- Emmis Radio
- DePaul
- KASU
- KCPR
- KCRW
- KDSU
- KEXP
- KJAZZ (jazz)
- KUSC (classical/contemporary)
- PAWS
- Radio K
- WBGO (jazz)
- WETA (classical/contemporary)
- WFMU
- WFTU
- WGBH (classical/jazz)
- WQXR (classical/contemporary)
- 51 Best College Radio Stations
- Sirius XM
The satellite leader has hundreds of music stations.
The Best Sirius XM Music Channels
Key radio programmes:
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Online publications with music content, including international artists, festival coverage and music video premieres:
Newspapers with sporadic artist interviews, album reviews and occasional festival reports. Some papers are nationally read such as the New York Times, while others are regionally or locally based. All of them prioritize their web versions.
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Los Angeles Times
- Metro (daily paper featured in NYC, Boston, Philadelphia)
- New York Post
- The New York Times
- USA TODAY
- The Village Voice
- Washington Post
Print magazines are still declining, also when it comes to American music publications. A few genre specific outlets are available weekly, monthly and quarterly. Web is a priority for the majority.
- Alternative Press (alternative rock/indie)
- Billboard (all categories, mostly mainstream music)
- DOWN BEAT (jazz)
- Jazz Times (jazz)
- Nylon (pop, rock, urban)
- Opera News (opera)
- Revolver (metal)
- Rolling Stone (pop, rock, urban)
- Teen Vogue (pop, rock, urban)
- The FADER (urban, pop, some rock/indie)
- VIBE (urban)
- XLR8R (electronic)
Live
From April to October there’s a huge selection of music festivals all over the US, especially on the East and West coast. We have listed some of the most popular.
Many US cities have symphony orchestras of varying sizes and degrees of popularity.
Opera companies can be found throughout the US in nearly every major city.
Throughout the US, there several world famous concert halls presenting a variety of music including classical, pop, jazz, world, and more.
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The “Top Five”
- Boston Symphony Orchestra
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra
- Cleveland Orchestra
- New York Philharmonic
- The Philadelphia Orchestra
- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
- Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
- Detroit Symphony Orchestra
- The Los Angeles Philharmonic
- Portland Symphony Orchestra
- San Francisco Symphony
More orchestras can be found at League of American Orchestras
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Opera companies can be found throughout the US in nearly every major city.
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Throughout the US, there several world famous concert halls presenting a variety of music including classical, pop, jazz, world, and more.
Music Industry Networking Arenas
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A2IM Indie Week is an international conference and networking event aimed at maximizing the global impact of Independent music. Held in New York in June, featuring more than 100 independent music business senior executives from around the globe.
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The ASCAP I Create Music EXPO conference is held annually in late April in Los Angeles and attracts world famous international song writers, A&Rs and publishers discussing a variety of topics during panels and networking events. The 2017 event ended with a keynote from Stevie Wonder.
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Culture Collide Festival established in 2011, the festival focus creative curiosity stretching across the venues of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. The lineup includes artists from over 20 different countries from around the world. The festival has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, and Time Out, among others. The program offers influential speakers from the music, entertainment and lifestyle industries and delegates from around the world to discuss brand partnerships, record sales, touring and digital marketing strategies.
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International music, media & technology conference based in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Since its inception in 2005, MUSEXPO has hosted thousands of executives, from A&R to promo, from all around the world and showcased 100+ artists from dozens of countries.
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Mondo.NYC is a New York based event founded in 2016 by the people behind CMJ. Mondo.NYC is a festival and global business summit of music and tech industry insiders and innovators, emerging artists and their fans. Mondo connects fans and creators in a shared mission of empowering artists and advancing ideas in the music business.
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South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomerate of film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began as a small event in 1987. Today SXSW has more than 2000 showcasing artists divided between 100 stages, in addition to more than 300 panels sessions and workshops.
Record Industry
According to RIAA recorded music US revenues grew 11.4% in 2016 to $7.7 billion, mostly thanks to a doubling of paid streaming music. Thus the American music business got its biggest gain since 1998.
At wholesale values, the industry was up 9.3% to $5.3 billion.
Even if there is a big improvement for the industry, revenues are still only about half what they were in 1999, and revenues from more traditional unit-based sales (physical products and digital downloads) continue to go down.
Universal
35,8%
(-2,3%) Total recorded music market share 2016 (source: MIDiA/MBW)
Sony
27,5%
(+0,1%) Total recorded music market share 2016 (source: MIDiA/MBW)
Warner
20,9%
(+2,5%) Total recorded music market share 2016 (source: MIDiA/MBW)
Indies
15,8%
(-0,3%) Total recorded music market share 2016 (source: MIDiA/MBW)
Labels and distribution
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The US indie labels’ marked share has been reduced by almost 50% since 2013.
The sector is represented by A2IM aka The American Association of Independent Music
- ANTI-
- ATO
- Beggars Group
- Century Media (metal)
- DFA
- EMPIRE
- Epitaph
- Glassnote
- Jagjaguwar
- Merge
- Mute
- Nettwerk
- Nuclear Blast (metal)
- Polyvinyl
- Secretly Canadian
- Sub Pop
- Warp
- Concord Jazz
- Heads Up International (jazz)
- Mack Avenue (jazz)
- Knitting Factory (jazz/contemporary/world)
- Rounder (roots/folk)
- Ultra Music (electronic)
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US major label sector is represented by the RIAA. These labels have imprints who often specialize in specific genres. (The majority of the classical/contemporary recordings are released under these imprints.)
- Universal Music
- Astralwerks
- Blue Note Records (jazz)
- Decca (classical/contemporary/jazz)
- Sugar Hill Records (folk/bluegrass)
- Verve Music Group (classical/contemporary/jazz)
- Sony Music Sony Masterworks (classical/contemporary)
- Columbia
- Epic
- RCA
- RED
- Atlantic
- Warner Music Group
- Roadrunner Records (metal)
- ADA
Publishing
The US publishing sector is large with lots of revenue opportunities. ASCAP reported US (domestic) earning of $716 million in 2016, while BMI’s revenue the same year was $721 million. Overall, the publishing sector is represented by two main organizations:
Publishing companies
Norwegian links
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The Norwegian Embassy in Washington D.C.
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Consulate General in Houston
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Consulate General in New York
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Consulate General in San Fransisco
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Honorary Consulate General Minneapolis
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Innovation Norway San Fransisco
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Innovation Norway New York
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Innovation Norway Washington
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Innovation Norway Houston
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Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce