Music
Topping the Charts: Global Music Revenue Reached New Heights in 2021
With the fastest growth rate in the past two decades, 2021 broke records in the international music community. The industry earned a total revenue of $25.9 billion, mainly driven by streaming, which accounted for 65% of the total. Streaming music platforms saw a total of 443 million paid subscribers in 2020, shooting up to 523 million in 2021. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), this is the seventh consecutive year of growth. Current events may impact 2022’s numbers slightly, as all Russian record labels represented by the IFPI have suspended operations. The British Phonographic Industry shared that the U.K. experienced slower industry growth with a 12.8% increase (compared to the 18.5% international increase), though it’s still the third-biggest music market in the world. The current highest-selling artist is South Korean band BTS, who took the top spot for the second year in a row. They are followed by Taylor Swift, Adele, and The Weeknd. African artists saw a streaming surge in 2021, as Afrobeat musicians are trending in the U.K. and other non-English speaking markets.
Incentives
Runaway Productions: Popular Destinations for Media That Do Not Make the Cut
When a filming project applies for a state tax credit but is not selected, they often choose a different location for their production. Between 2015 and 2020, films that sought but did not receive the California tax credit landed elsewhere, costing the state $7.7 billion and 28,000 jobs. According to the Motion Pictures Association, these so-called “runaway productions” generated over $3 billion dollars for Canada, Georgia, and New Mexico. In July, California governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill adding $330 million to the existing tax credit program. A report examining 169 productions given tax breaks in the state of California and 157 productions which were denied was released in the hopes of boosting support for upcoming bills to extend the program. States that benefited include Georgia ($551.9 million in increased spending), New Mexico ($250.3 million), New York ($186.6 million), and Louisiana ($103.4 million). Canada attracted a grand total of $1.2 billion, with other ranked countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. With a shortage of filming space in Los Angeles on top of the inventive offerings being made by 30 other states, runaway productions are becoming more common.
International
Subtitling Scramble: Dramas Need To Plan in Advance for Better Accuracy
The rise of streaming has opened new opportunities for international dramas. When Netflix’s Squid Game became an unexpected overnight success, the show’s production team was forced to scramble and put out additional subtitling. Catherine Retat, Director of International Dubbing at Netflix, notes that this instance is part of a steep learning curve when it comes to accommodating streaming shows. Working with the content team well before a show’s release to determine captioning needs is part of the creative process. Translation teams also need to think about cultural considerations to ensure the dubs are capturing the proper context from the original language. Quality dubbing and subtitling is essential to localization, as is ensuring your content is fully accessible to the deaf and visually impaired communities. Chris Carey, Executive VP of Marketing and Corporate Development at localization and media services provider Iyuno-SDI Group, advises productions to take localization efforts into consideration early on rather than as an afterthought. With more content reaching global audiences, subtitling still has a long way to go.
DEI
Gains in Representation: UCLA Releases the Hollywood Diversity Report 2022
Finally, Hollywood is making real strides in representation and diversity. The latest report by UCLA shows that the percentage of leading roles performed by people of color has quadrupled since 2011, and the percentage of women in leading roles has nearly doubled. In addition, the percentage of women directors has also increased fivefold. Women are also making moves in the writers room, with credits rising from 26% in 2020 to 33.5% in 2021. The report aims to highlight the success of inclusion efforts pushed by studios and the Motion Picture Association but acknowledges the work that still needs to be done. While diversity gains were made, some minority groups are struggling for screen time. For example, Latinx creators are still extremely underrepresented among the film categories surveyed, including leads, overall cast, directors, and writers. According to the report, Native Americans “remain virtually invisible in Hollywood, making up less than one percent of each job category tracked.” Dr. Darnell Hunt, one of the co-authors of the report and Dean of Social Sciences at UCLA, believes that the number of movies that went direct-to-streaming this year also played a role in the increased diversity we are seeing. This report also shows the diversity among film audiences, as streaming is creating international audiences for their content.
Streaming
YouTube’s Collection: The Ad-Supported Model in the Streaming Wars
This week, video-sharing platform YouTube added over 4,000 TV episodes to its free streaming collection. The site already hosts several free-to-watch ad-supported movies but is expanding their repertoire with the latest television additions. YouTube aims to continue this growth by adding over 100 more titles each week. These additions demonstrate a trend toward the television format. Platforms are taking notice as TV shows receive more awards and acclaim, and projects that may have once been films are becoming more longform programming. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that V series push users to log more hours on their platforms. Free streaming platforms are starting to see incremental growth, with 18% of U.S. households using at least one free ad-supported TV service at the end of 2021. Combining this rise in popularity with YouTubes large footprint (which reaches 135 million people across connected TVs), the site may become a new television destination.
High five! Another Friday Five is going live next week—same time, same place. We know what caught our eyes, but we’re all ears. Tell us what you’d like to learn more about in our upcoming editions by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Be sure to tag #FridayFive in your comments.
See you next Friday at 10 a.m. (PT).